The Set Up

Many Non Christians would agree that the bible goes against any form of science still credible today, and they’re right. There is no phenomenon in which a body of water such as the red sea can be separated within the hour, and then put back in place. Nor is there a phenomenon in which fire can just come down from the sky and burn everything including water. And there is no man today that could claim to have been beaten, killed, embalmed, and after three days roll a huge boulder away and appear before his men looking fine.

Many of us believe in these miracles as God’s work, which is true. But non-believers think them to be farce and furthermore some even dedicate themselves to “proving” them untrue and telling us what “really happened”. What about these people? Do you avoid them? Do you think of them as fools? Wretched sinners? One of the hell bound?

No matter how smart any one is, they cannot make full sense of a book reading from the middle to the end. And anyone who walks into a movie thirty minutes after it started with surely ask himself or the guy next to him, “What’s going on?”

The “Set Up” of a movie is commonly referred to as the introduction, or scene/chapter 1. In the Set Up the stage is set and the main characters are introduced. It is the Set Up that gives the plot it’s purpose, and the story it’s meaning. Without the Set Up the story is weightless, and may seem a farce.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, the darkness Covered deep waters. And the spirit of got covered these waters.” [Gen. 1:1-2 (NLT)]. These are the first two verses of the bible. The first verse tells us about heaven and earth, and God made them, giving us the belief that THERE IS A GOD. The second verse tells us about a dark and empty earth. And yet how god was down there instead of up on his throne. This gives us the belief that GOD CARES TO DO MORE THAN JUST BE GLORIOUS. When you combine these two meanings, you can say that THERE IS A GOD AND HE CARES.

But the non-believers tend to ignore the Set Up. Instead they skip right to the miracles and the commands. And like the guy who arrives late to the movie theater, they’re likely to ask, “What’s going on? Who is God?”

Try reading a book from middle to end sometime. You’ll notice that when you reach the end not only are you confused, but also you’ll feel like there is no message. What’s the point of getting to point B if you don’t know where point A was to begin with?

Christians, do not let them miss out on the Set Up of God’s word. Answer them when they ask what’s going on. Encourage them to go back to the beginning, not debate with them about the middle.

May the Lord’s guidance be with you all,-