A Kaleidoscope of many colors as finding the brilliance of God in the Bible

A Kaleidoscope of many colors as finding the brilliance of God in the Bible

It isn’t that every book has a particular color but all of them bring the fashion of different authors, each one introducing man to God. For just a moment take the Gospel accounts of Jesus by authors speaking to a varied group of people.  We find that their method of explaining the Son of God differs in context but each one brings the ultimate sense of God’s plan for forgiveness

When God calls prophets today, just as he did in the Old Testament, it isn’t a matter of their status in the social world that determines how well they will speak for God, but how their obedience fits into God’s plan.  God’s call to Abrham, like most other prophets, he was not one who was so special that he certainly got God’s attention.   God sees what his choice can become and the depth of this person’s unfailing obedience.

The stories of all of those God called may vary in what each one performed, but the very essence of promoting the Lord became their significance.  If we were to highlight the accomplishments of each prophet we could imagine a collection of differences blending together as in a kaleidoscope, making the message of God something to behold.

Our modern collection, in the New Testament Gospels, is a perfect example of reaching people from many different religious beliefs, traditions, and understanding of what makes faith the prime element of learning who God is and the final trek to receive his mercy.  

Mark’s Gospel, the first written, was mainly to an audience of Gentile origin, unfamiliar  with Jewish customs.  This book aimed to equip such Christians to stand faithful in the face of persecution.  It is estimated to have been written in Syria shortly after the year 70.  

Matthew’s Gospel account, although thought to have been the first written, has been proven to be at least a decade later than Mark since much of this work is dependent on Mark’s Gospel for a lot of his narrative.  The main audience for Matthew was Jews turning to the New Way (Christian name came later in Antioch).   His gospel is set in five books following the make-up as the Torah.  It has an infancy narrative and an Eschatology narrative, but the five books being the central theme makes it easy for Jews to become familiar with the structure.  

The Gospel of Luke gives his audience an opportunity to relate to Jesus who is caring, with tenderness for the poor and afflicted.   Some scholars call Jesus the back-door Messiah meaning his approach is personal and makes people feel more comfortable with his mission.

St. John becomes the theologian that describes Jesus as God whereas the Synoptics tell the readers about his miracles or what he did to proclaim God.  John's Gospel is called the Book of Signs since each sign is a way to show his divinity in a more conclusive manner.  

The point here is that every author in the bible wrote or directed to others who would write for them used their own style of imparting messages that represented themselves through their eyes or memory.  As with the Gospel writers of the New Testament, that all agreed on the Passion of Christ and the collective narrative ended in the same manner.  So it was with the Old Testament where the promise of God to forgive man was written in a manner that Jesus became the future king, the Messiah who would set things straight.

We can never forget that the entire bible is about Christ:  He is the Salvation of mankind and his Father brings this excursion of mystery to completion.  Placing all of the books in a cauldron magnified with God’s intentions of mercy becomes a kaleidoscope of the essence of a loving and merciful God.  

Ralph B. Hathaway