The disciples came to Him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. Matthew 13:10-17
“I would have marveled at Jesus’ parables, a form that became His trademark. Writers ever since have admired His skill in communicating profound truth through such everyday stories. A scolding woman wears down the patience of a judge. A king plunges into an ill-planned war. A group of children quarrel in the street. A man is mugged and left for dead by robbers. A single woman who loses a penny acts as if she has lost everything. There are no fanciful creatures and sinuous plots in Jesus’ parables; He simply describes the life around Him.
The parables served Jesus’ purposes perfectly. Everyone likes a good story, and Jesus’ knack for storytelling held the interest of a mostly illiterate society of farmers and fishermen. Since stories are easier to remember than concepts or outlines, the parables also helped preserve His message: years later, as people reflected on what Jesus had taught, His parables came to mind in vivid detail. It is one thing to talk in abstract terms about the infinite, boundless love of God. It is quite another to tell of a man who lays down His life for friends, or of a heartsick father who scans the horizon every night for some sign of a wayward son.”
Philip Yancey (b. 1949) in The Jesus I Never Knew: Revealing What 2,000 Years of History Have Covered Up (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996) 95.
This post reflects a lesson I am learning in my life and leadership, in my teaching and training around the world. I can share lofty ideas and construct complex solutions but if I do not include practical illustrations that reflect the initiative local works must take, I am just wasting my time.
For example, if I share the biblical stories of Nehemiah collaborating with Ezra to unite the people with prayer, lead them in confession, and chart a new course with standards and by affixing their seals the impact can get lost in antiquity.
But when I share how television evangelists corruptly stole church funds for themselves and tell how Billy Graham convened pastors and professions follow the same biblical pattern they not only founded ECFA in USA, they rebuilt the trust of Americans.
I continue sharing that today 2,800+ ECFA-accredited members have $32 billion flow through them to kingdom work, and people get excited. They want a peer accountability group like ECFA in their country. From there, I say what Jesus said at the end of the Good Samaritan parable, “go and do likewise.”
What’s my point today related to generosity? Tell good stories. My aim relates to telling people how they can write a new story for their country by giving themselves to rebuilding their people like Nehemiah and Ezra did. What good stories can you tell?
And the irony of the story I told you links to the prophecy Jesus quotes from Isaiah. If people are not willing to listen keenly and discern the aim of a good story, they lose. But those who pay attention, get more than they every dreamed. They get the keys to unleashing the kingdom.
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