Looking out the window I can see the first clouds come in to indicate the season is changing again. A chill is in the air so I close my window and watch the tree limbs move to and fro in the cold air. The words I’d been reading move through my thoughts. It was about parables. How teaching can be shared through allegory stories or even word pictures.
Jesus taught this way virtually everywhere he went. His disciples finally asked him about the reasons he did this and his answer isn’t one I set aside easily. He told them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom-you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight.” A Beatles tune drifts in and out of my head, “listen, do you want to know a secret”, and I think to myself I really do.
I wonder at all the stories I’ve ever read in my life, especially when I wasn’t a woman walking in faith. The great stories that filled me with hope, movies that brought me joy. The one’s with a positive message were the one’s I’d come to own so I could enjoy that sensation over and over.
I realize a secret. In each of these positive stories was a message of hope, nudging me toward receptive insight. With each hopeful meaning I sought for the truth of that hope, and I found it.