if God had a diary, how would it read?

If God had a diary, how would it read? What would he record? Where would he keep it so it wouldn’t get lost? Who would he trust with its secrets?

Part of the trouble with the Bible is that we try to make it something it's not. The bible doesn't read like a theology textbook or a handbook on church government. It's not presented that way. No, if you want to use it like that, you have to add an index. There's a book called Nave's Topical Bible, that organizes the Bible by topic so that you can look up love or forgiveness or mercy or anger or leadership, for example, and then you thumb through the entire Bible picking up bits and pieces. Nothing against Nave's, but it shows how different the bible is from a topical handbook.

Whether God ever intended us to pull out propositional truth from the bible or not, to find out "What the Bible says about..." must be gleaned. And that can be a lot of work. That keeps ordained ministers, priests, apologists, preachers, and professors busy, although with computers and a little creativity many tools have been developed today that make that a much more efficient pursuit. Nothing against preachers and other workers who will spend their lives diving for hidden treasures and sharing them with us, but it again shows how different the bible is from an encyclopedia.

This is not to say that the bible doesn't record specific and clear commands from God or that it has no authority. It does. But the Bible reads less like an owner's manual, text book, encyclopedia, rule book, or even a letter than it does a journal. There are letters in there. And there are instructions like you would find in a Final Will and Testament. And occasionally there are discussions of topics like you would find in a textbook. But as a whole, the bible is way too patchy to be called any of these things.

The Lord said to Abraham, 'Leave your country...'

After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, 'Send me back to my own homeland...'

Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.

Moses answered, 'What if they do not believe me?'...Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"

These were the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan Aram...

Then the LORD said to Cain, 'Where is your brother Abel?'
'I don’t know,' he replied. 'Am I my brother’s keeper?'
The LORD said, 'What have you done?...'

The person to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean...On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair; he must shave his head, his beard, his eyebrows and the rest of his hair.

Do not steal.
Do not lie.
Do not deceive one another.
Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God.
I am the LORD.
Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.
Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God.
I am the LORD.
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.
I am the LORD.
Do not hate your brother in your heart.
Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD.
Keep my decrees.
Do not mate different kinds of animals.
Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.
Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

A farmer went out to sow his seed...

Jesus said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Love must be sincere.
Hate what is evil.
Cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.

I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that.

I got a book for my birthday by Howard Garrett about Texas Trees. It's beautifully illustrated and organized like I would expect to find a book with ready information for nurturing and growing trees in Texas. Well, then. If the Bible is a reference book loaded with tips and quotes and formulas for nurturing and growing successful Christians, why isn't it organized anything like that at all?! It's a real patchwork collection like...like a journal...a diary. To me, this doesn't diminish it at all! To me this just reinforces what Jesus told me: God is a person who wants to know and be known by me. He's not the Great Prime Mover or The Ultimate Cause. And that's why he gave me a journal, not a policy manual.

The Bible records for us things that happen as men and women walk with God. Some things they say and do and think are added to the journal. Some things God says and does and thinks are added to the journal. Some things are profound and jump off the page, causing a riot in the heart - "Let My people go!" - but some things seem trivial and superfluous, "...from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur; from Benjamin, Abidan son of Gideoni; from Dan, Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai; from Asher, Pagiel son of Ocran; from Gad, Eliasaph son of Deuel; from Naphtali, Ahira son of Enan..." Surely everything David or Abraham did is not in the bible. Surely everything God thought is not in the bible. How could they be? What is in there is what God thought would be good to add to His journal, just like what is in my journal is what I thought would be good to add to it.

So where would God keep his journal so it wouldn't get lost? I was amazed with the durability of the bible through the ages when I read Josh McDowell's Evidence that Demands a Veredict. Of course I didn't think that proved the bible was right just because it outlasted conquerors, kings, generations, revolutions, fires, floods, famines, and even the dark ages (and it certainly didn't make me want to worship it). But the fact that it is the most reliable of any ancient text by any modern standard does send a chill up my spine and make me think maybe God chose a safe spot to keep His own journal so that it could finish serving its purposes. (And I admit that I didn't read much more of Josh's book after the part about the bible being durable--that was back when he was too long winded, and he put me to sleep).

Finally, who would God trust with his secrets? Somewhere in God's journal he says that he won't do anything without revealing it to his prophets. You only share your journal with your most intimate friends. I mean, an enemy may discover it, and may even figure out how to use your own journal against you, but there are just some mysterious things in there that only a friend would understand, and maybe some things that even a friend wouldn't understand at first, but would after going through some stuff together. "Abraham trusted God...and he was called God's friend." When it comes right down to it, only the person who believes you, who believes in you, who trusts you gets to be your friend and share the secrets of your journal.

The more I think about it the more I'm convinced that the bible is God's very own journal, at least it's the one he shares with the inhabitants of the earth. Whether He has another one or not I don't know. Maybe somewhere up above He's keeping one and adding new entries right now. I have heard of people in the past and even the present who He whispers things to, and reveals even more of His thoughts, and I am interested to know if He ever intends to write those down as well.

Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

-Job

Job hoped that God would journal the words of his life, and it worked out for him. Maybe it will work out for me, too. For now, I love the thought that God trusted me to read his journal, and I even understand some of it. I hope it becomes even more precious to me as we go through more stuff together. From what I've seen so far, I think it will.