Yesterday my first seminary classes began. This summer, between July 11 and Aug 26, I'll be taking two classes from the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. The classes are Theological & Biblical Research (1 credit) and God's Redemptive Mission (4 credits). Online orientation is now winding down, and I've received the first assignments for God's Redemptive Mission. So, yesterday afternoon I read the first book, "A Walk Through the Bible," by Lesslie Newbigin. It was a great, and short, book that reminded me of "The Story" a little bit. Of course "The Story" is the text of the Bible, in chronological order and without repeats, and Newbigin's book wasn't. Instead, it's a brief chronological account of the story of the Bible allowing the reader to see a big picture of what the Bible is about, and thus, what God is like, and how we are called to be. It would be worth your time to read it (it's about $6 on Amazon).
Then we were asked to write a brief statement about what character or book of the Bible we found significant and post it to our class forum. Here's my submission:
Among many books and characters in the Bible that hold significance to me, I choose Moses today. Even from a place of power, Moses identified with his people, the Israelites, and then grew to know and love their God, even more than they did. His love for his people, and his strong relationship with God helped hold things together out in the desert. For a period of many weeks, while I was struggling to discern my call, I had Moses’ statement to God from Exodus 32:32 as wallpaper on my phone: “But now, if you will only forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of the book that you have written.” It is that type of love for people, and relationship with God, that I seek to emulate.
