When I got married, I was intrigued by how much more Traci knew and liked the love story of Jacob and Rachel than I ever had. Then it hit me—the stories of the Bible are so diverse that everyone can find stories that may appeal more to them than to others. There are stories (like Jacob and Rachel) that girls really love. There are stories that boys really enjoy—like Ehud thrusting his dagger into the belly of Eglon (who the Bible says “was a very fat man”), and “even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade” (Judges 3:17, 22). (And that is not to stereotype anyone, for my daughters really like the King Eglon story.) And, what boy is there named David or Daniel who didn’t think “his story” was the best one in the Bible?
I’m glad that God gave us a variety of stories. Not only because we each can identify with a certain one, but because we each learn differently. (The stories of the Bible are there for our learning.) But the greatest story of all is the one that appeals to all and the one with which all can identify, for it is the story of Jesus who saves us all from our sins. What a great book!