Everyone loves human interest stories. Christ knew this of course and frequently used various incidents to drive home, his message. The stories he told are timeless. We call them parables. They have a strong Eastern flavour but they are so true to life even today that a study of them can be very rewarding. While he had always used short illustrations and figures of speech, it was in the last year or so when the people had begun to reject him that he started using parables. His intention was that these stories should only yield their meaning to those whose spiritual eyes and ears were open to his message. He said several times: If you have ears, listen' (Matthew 13:9 - Living Bible). Do we today need hearing aids when listening to his words? It is difficult to count the number of parables. If you include the short illustrations, the total might be over 100 but the generally accepted figure is about 39. These stories cover so many areas of life. We watch the sower as he strides across the field and we are reminded of Christians today sowing the good seed of the Word of God. We watch a woman baking bread, we listen to a poor woman pleading her cause. We see an Eastern wedding and the wedding guests. We see the fisherman and the shepherd at work. We hear the crash of a house built on poor foundations. Time is referred to in these parables. Accountability is stressed.Rewards are mentioned. 19 out of the 39 parables deal with the right or wrong use of money. And because the stories deal with men and women, we realise human nature hasn't changed since Christ's day. It is still the same today. What did Christ say? If you have ears, listen.' Do we need help with our hearing today or is the message coming through loud and clear? |
沒有留言:
張貼留言