WHY PARABLES
Matthew
13:1-1
Jesus replied… This is why I speak to them in
parables: The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those
on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing
but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they
might turn and be forgiven!’
Every Saturday night, four good friends get
together. When Jerry, Mike, and Pat arrived, Karen was sitting in her living
room writing some notes. She quickly gathered the cards and stood up to greet
her friends at the door. They followed her into the living room but as usual
they couldn’t agree on exactly what to play. Jerry eventually took a stand and
set things up. Finally, they began to play. Karen’s recorder filled the room
with soft and pleasant music. Early in the evening, Mike noticed Pat’s hand and
the many diamonds. As the night progressed the tempo of play increased.
Finally, a lull in the activities occurred. Taking advantage of this, Jerry
pondered the arrangement in front of him. Mike interrupted Jerry’s reverie and
said, “Let’s hear the score.” They listened carefully and commented on their
performance. When the comments were all heard, exhausted but happy, Karen’s
friends went home.
What are Karen and her friends
doing? Can you guess? Do you need more information? Is there more than one
activity that comes to mind? If you ask your friends to read this, will they
come to the same conclusion as you? Try it.
When some people read the Bible they
have trouble understanding what is being said. Like the story above, people
struggle to see the real picture being drawn by the words. People are confused
by the story, the parable or the depiction presented. Remember that without a
complete understanding of Scripture and the context of the passage many will
fail to see or hear the message. In fact, without the Spirit’s work, many will
remain un-seeing and un-hearing of the message we know as the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.