Ted Grimsrud—April 19, 2021

Back in 2001, I published a little book with the subtitle, “An Introduction to the Bible’s Main Themes.” I had a hard time for a while figuring out what the main title should be. How would I best catch up those “main themes” in a short phrase? The title I came up with was, “God’s healing strategy,” a phrase I had used in some sermons that were the early version of what went into the book. Several people I talked with about this thought that was a pretty weak title. It kind of makes God into a basketball coach—which isn’t too surprising, I suppose, since my dad was a basketball coach and certainly did talk about “strategy” a lot. But no one came up with a better idea, so “God’s healing strategy” it stayed.

If I could name the book now, I might try “A God Who Heals” or “Healing Mercy.” Or maybe, “Healing Stories” with a triple meaning—stories about God’s healing work, stories that help people find healing, but also an attempt to heal the way we read and apply at least some of the Bible’s stories.

Regardless, this is what I would want to get at with the title: The main focus of the Bible, as I understand it, centers on God and God’s intentions to bring healing to a world full of brokenness—and on how God brings such healing. These are the issues the Bible cares about, I would say: What needs healing—and how is the healing to be done? And, what does the story of Jesus have to say about these issues? Why do we pay attention to Jesus in relation to the Bible’s message of healing?

Continue reading “God’s greatest power is mercy [Jesus story #5]” →