As we sit with God’s story, it not only informs us and makes us more complete; it also teaches us about the consistent character of God — his faithfulness and love, his mercy and justice. Reading the Bible gives us the opportunity to see God through the lives of others. While the times may change, and the people, the languages, and the cultures all may change, the God whom people interact with does not.

Editors’ note: This is an adapted excerpt from Lauren and Michael McAfee’s new book, Not What You Think: Why the Bible Might Be Nothing We Expected Yet Everything We Need (Zondervan).

Do you remember when you would dream of what your life might be like at a certain age? When you reached that age, were you surprised by how differently things turned out? Some would say that this experience can best be described as maturing. Maturity is the reconciliation of dreams hoped for and life lived. Pleasantly, sometimes these two things reconcile perfectly, and the life you experience is as good as or better than you ever could have hoped.

Lauren and I feel this way about marriage; we were high school sweethearts and dreamed of one day being married. The reality of our life together has been more difficult but also more wonderful than we could have imagined at age 17. We married at 21, while still in college. We took a fun vacation for our honeymoon, and it was like a dream. Once we returned home, immediately we both got sick. A few days later, we had our first fight. A few months later, the quirks that were once cute were now annoying. Years into marriage, we hit a rough patch that left us questioning what our relationship would look like in the future.

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