With Scripture, we’ve not been invited to an academic fraternity; we’ve been invited to a wrestling match. We’ve been invited to a dynamic, centuries-long conversation with God and God’s people that has been unfolding since creation, one story at a time. — Rachel Held Evans [1]

In my life, there are two different ways I would have taken the quote above. In the first part of my life, I would have hated it. Back then, I wanted to think of scripture exclusively as a book of good news, guidance, comfort, and consolation. I still like to think of scripture in that way, but I can no longer think of it exclusively. Having long ago encountered the more difficult and alarming parts of scripture, it’s comforting to know that I’m not the only one who has felt that I’m in a wrestling match.

[1] Rachel Held Evans, Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again (Nashville, Tennesee: Thomas Nelson, 2018), 28.