TUESDAY December 10th
Hebrews 4:12
‘For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’
I wonder which of the stories that Jesus told is your favourite? They vary in length, yet each one holds a specific meaning that is relevant to our coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, besides considering the parables as stories, there is also the greatest of all stories which is of course the redemption story. And it is interwoven throughout the whole of scripture. And so, we can say that the parables are all shorter stories that are based upon some aspect of or set around the bigger story.
Now, although I came to faith after hearing a man called George Woodfield preach on the parable of the lost sheep, I think my favourite would have to be the parable of the Sower—and not because I love my gardening, although I have often drawn illustrations between the two! But it’s my favourite because I think that this parable, and I am not going to consider it in detail today, helps us to understand something of the power that is to be found in the written word of God as it is planted like a seed into the hearts of men and women. (hence why I chose the text for today) and likewise, there is power in all the stories Jesus told.
The power is seen by the very fact that the stories which Jesus told were illustrative talks based on material or earthly things that the people could see and understand, and they had an interpretation into the spiritual world. How often have we heard them described as ‘an earthly story with a heavenly meaning’.
They were a means for making a truth known to those who heard them, although we do know that at times the meaning was hidden from some, as it would require a spiritual awakening within the heart of the hearer to comprehend the meaning as we see in Matthew 13:11 after Jesus had told the parable of the Sower, the disciples asked Jesus ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ to which Jesus replied, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of heaven, but to them it has not been given’.
Story telling has always been a great way of illustrating something, and Jesus clearly knew this, but what is more he knew how to do it. How often have we understood a truth when someone sharing the word of God has used an illustration from an experience that they have had which has helped to develop the meaning of what they have been teaching.
I know I have done this myself, as an example I have often mentioned my lamb that went missing overnight, and my discovery that a fox had come and snatched it because I found the woolly remains in the field, and I have used it to remind us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking those who he can devour.
So, as we consider the parables, the stories that Jesus told, however well we may think we have known them or even despite however many times we may have read them or heard them being preached from, I trust that the Holy Spirit will inspire us further.