Daily Devotion, Matthew 13 Are You Telling Stories

 

Daily Devotional, Matthew 13
Are You Telling Stories?

I am only doing one chapter for the devotion today. It is a chapter I have studied and taught on for many years as I do movie reviews and write stories.

This chapter is filled with Jesus telling stories, stories that on the surface seem to have little or no spiritual relevance to the disciples, and those around him. Those hearing the stories didn't understand; why was Jesus telling stories? Was He just trying to entertain people or was there something to what He was saying?  Jesus later takes His disciples to the side and explains things to them. Much of this applies to us if we get over the often times religious controls we like to place on ourselves and others.

In Biblical terminology, Jesus is using what are called parables/  One of the thing we don't understand in today's religious conversation is that parables, a story with underlying meaning, allegory as an example, can be used in various forms be it movies, books, and even video games among others. The key is not just what is entailed in the story, but how WE interpret the story. Did you get that, how we interpret a story is important.

A number of years ago, I wrote a short story called An Alaskan Affair. The story is available in the archives if people want to check it out, I'll tell you, I'm quite proud of that story and one of the reasons is the response I often get from others after they read it. It is an open ended story left open to interpretation. People ask about the ending.  When they do I ask them what do they think the ending was about. They tell me and I tell them they are correct because the ending depends on the reader, the hearer.  They often get confused but sometimes the author of a story is just trying to get people to think about certain concepts. That is what a parable is and although there may be an intent in what people think about that isn't always true. That is what Jesus is doing here, over and over.

There are questions I can draw from this reading and study, ones that while can be taken lightly, should also be taken seriously and be challenging for each of us. I'll be brief, but think about each of the following questions.

First, do you understand the people around you, be they Christians, non Christians, weak Christians and so forth?  Do you understand their world, experiences or the things that are a part of who they are? I have often said  you can tell a real friend because they will know how you drink your coffee, assuming you drink coffee. They know your details, your experiences. When communicating with others and trying to encourage spiritual growth or acceptance, you need to know the person you are speaking to, whether they be individuals or an audience. If  I am speaking to a group of fishermen, I better have some understanding of fishing or at the very least make the effort to know something. Then I can speak about something they will understand and relate to.

Second, do you limit where and how your stories can be told. My experience, especially since doing reviews since 1978 is that people like to limit the source of the story, especially if in a way they don't like, say horror. Some people love horror that aren't Christians, even a lot of Christians, yet, some are critical of those genres. I experience this in movies, writings and other ways. Yet, those kind of stories can still get through. Here is a point, if the television series South Park can have some spiritual truths in them, you can use those truths to point to the ultimate truth. We see Jesus doing something similar here and the Apostle Paul later on in another book addresses this concept spot on.

Another question is are you at the place where you can see and recognize spiritual truths in stories to share with others? There are definitely times this is true of all of us because we may not be familiar with the genera or concepts within a story. This is why Jesus takes the disciples aside and tells them the meaning of the stories, He is teaching His followers how to listen and how to use story. Sometimes we are so caught up in ourselves or the things around us that we don't take the time to listen, think about, and apply how we use story to communicate to others. For some, if it isn't loaded with what some call Christianeze, (language only Christians understand) then it isn't appropriate. From the Thee's and Thous to the words we think everyone understands like Lordship, Anointed, Sanctified, and I could go on and on. Jesus does something remarkable here, He is teaching His disciples the concepts on how to speak in the language of the people in a way they will understand. Are we at the place where we can do that?

This passage deals with story, how to tell them, how to hear them what they are for and so much more. Maybe, just maybe we should start learning to be like Jesus. Think about it, this passage goes so far as to say, "He NEVER taught them anything without first telling them stories."  Hmmm, wonder how we could apply that in our lives with those we love that need to grow in the faith or for the first time  discover faith in Jesus?

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