Parables are brilliant. In Luke 8 Jesus says to His disciples, "…the secrets of the kingdom of God have been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.” It is so like Christ to weed out the fakers. If He told fables to the crowds they would have to do an analysis [high school English essay/book report style] of the setting, the characters, and the language to determine the purpose behind the telling of such seemingly-childish stories. Those who weren’t genuinely listening were likely to not get it or to get bored trying to get it; leaving the sincere seekers of the truth asking for more.
Our God has always been seeking after genuine, unadulterated hearts. In the parable of the selfish son we are all forced to watch in agony as the son wads up his future and throws it into a deep, depressing trash can. We sit on the edge of our chair while reading, hoping if we scream loud enough it will penetrate the tissue-like pages of our bible and the son will look out in the crowd and heed our advice [I’m picturing a hesitant Prices Right contestant on stage with Bob Barker looking to the crowd for assurance on their next wager]. I know God wants us to get a pit in our stomachs when we notice that the dad doesn’t scream, yell, and kick his feet to try to stop the son from leaving. It is a reflection of the freedom God offers us but I think it is also a picture of God’s desire for authenticity.
The son leaves the comforts of his conservative home hoping to find true satisfaction living life in the fast lane but the feeling he quickly arrives at is sheer disappointment. Human nature is sickening sometimes. We think we know what is going to bring us true happiness and fulfillment and we will try it all before we surrender to the beauty of living in relationship with God.
I know this idea probably isn’t news to anyone, but I realized today that God gives us free will because He loves authenticity. He wants our hearts to be so overwhelmed by the privilege of getting to live in relationship with Him. The prodigal son had to flex his freedom muscles to arrive at the conclusion that living in the confines of his father’s home was the most wonderful honor.
I know God lets me dabble in the same kind of nonsense. He watches me make decisions that hurt Him because He so desires for me to come running home saying, “I have sinned against you and I am unworthy…”…but I have finally realized that life without you is purposeless.
When I finally turn to face God out of love and not guilt, I am beginning to understand the true heart of the Father.
Jenna Thomas
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