Seeing the Whole Floor

I was a high school freshman squeezing out time on the varsity squad. I was adjusting to the pace of the varsity level, which was much different from splitting traps and making assists as a junior high point guard. (Same adjustment occurs between the high school and college levels, except is multiplied by ten to fifteen times the athleticism, size, and intensity.)  I had just committed back-to-back turnovers when I heard an assistant coach yell, “Gibson! See the whole floor!” The coach then calmly walked over and explained that, as a point guard, I needed to see both where the offense was supposed to be and where the defense might be. Just seeing the offense was only seeing half of what I was supposed to see, he explained. I needed to see the whole floor.

“Gibson! See the whole floor!” Those words continue to ring in my ear very loudly, but for a different reason. I believe that many times, as Christ-followers, we fail to see “the whole floor” of Scripture. We might, like a young point guard, just see one aspect of a passage or book and fail to miss the larger context. Or, we spend so much time focusing on one smaller aspect of Scriptural doctrine and fail to see the larger narrative which supports the larger context. As a basketball player, not seeing the whole floor can lead to tunnel vision. As a Christ-follower, not seeing “the whole floor” of Scripture can lead us to beliefs and doctrines that are either incomplete or not Biblical. So, what do we do?

1. As we read Scripture, we remind ourselves of the larger narrative. The Bible is 66 books comprised in two testaments. Paul told Timothy, “all Scripture is inspired by God.” That means, that the book of Amos is inspired by God just as much as the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Genesis, Exodus, Romans, or Revelation. All Scripture is to be read and engaged with the understanding that the Old Testament points towards Christ and that the post-Gospel New Testament points back to Christ. We risk selling the story short if we do not seek to understand each verse, passage, and book in its larger narrative context. 
2. We make every effort possible to understand each book in its smaller and larger contexts. As a fledgling point guard on the high school level, I was trying to learn the difference between a shuffle cut and zipper cut. (Don’t understand these terms? Welcome to my freshman year.) If I had mistaken a zipper cut for a shuffle cut while running the offense, I would have thrown the ball where the offensive player was not, resulting in a turnover. We make Biblical turnovers when we don’t work to understand each book of the Bible in its context. For instance, the book of Psalm is meant to be read as a book of poetry and music. The book of Acts is a historical book and meant to be read like you would read a history book. Most of Paul’s writings are apologetics of the faith. Try reading Psalms like you would Acts or Paul’s writings and you might get a headache. Or worse, you might misinterpret the meaning of the Biblical text. 
3. Keep the main thing the main thing. If a team cannot score in a basketball game, they cannot win. If a person reading Scripture does not remember that “in beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” they cannot win in their faith. As John stated, Scripture is about the Word. The word is Jesus the Messiah. The whole of the Scriptural story points to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Without his life, death, and resurrection, the larger narrative of Scripture would fall apart. It’s all about Jesus. 

So, when you read the Bible, remember to see the whole floor.  As you grow in your ability to understand the full narrative of the Bible, much like a young point guard who slowly learns to understand the whole game, the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection will jump off the page at you.