Description:
When we read the Bible as a parable, as a series of object lessons told merely to prove a point, we miss something. When we treat the people within the Bible as mere ""characters"" in a story, we lose something incredibly important.

Object lessons are clean and simple. People, on the other hand, are messy and complicated. When we look at the life of Simon Peter, we see one of the messiest people in the entire New Testament. Peter walked on water and sank into the waves. He proclaimed who Jesus was and completely missed the point. He pledged his undying devotion to Christ, and...