New Parables to Ponder: 12 Stories to Spark Spiritual Questions

Introduction

Imagine if you could go back in time to hear a famous speech from someone who is widely considered as the most influential person in the history of western society and perhaps the world - Jesus of Nazareth. Even if you don't believe Jesus was the Son of God, you would have to be intrigued to hear directly from a man whose teachings are still influential even thousands of years later.

Picture this...

You arrive at a lake tucked away in the rural countryside of Israel during the age of the Roman Empire. Jesus' whereabouts are not hard to find simply by following the thousands of people looking for him, just like you. You push your way through the crowd toward the voice of someone teaching by the sea. As you make your way to the front of the crowd, you see a small fishing boat just off shore. The boat is far enough from the edge of the water so that everyone in the crowd can see it, but close enough to be able to hear one of the men on the boat speaking to the people. This must be Jesus! As you stare at the man in the boat, you can tell he's concluding his speech. You listen closely to His final words.

"The kingdom of heaven is like old, fermented dough, that a woman mixes in an enormous pile of flour until the whole pile is fermented." Then Jesus sends the crowds of people away, and he goes into a house.

Wait... What?

I knew that Jesus liked to tell stories, but he didn't really leave it so open ended, did he? He has to tell us what the story means, right? Today, we think parables are stories that help us understand a confusing spiritual topic, but Jesus taught with parables for the exact opposite reason. At one point, Jesus' closest friends directly asked him why he taught using parables. What was his response? Parables teach spiritual truth in a confusing way so that only the right people will understand (Matthew 13:10-15).

Hold on. Jesus' teaching wasn't for everyone?! Well, that's a much larger topic of debate for another time, but in an over-simplification, think about it like this: The only people that can be taught are the ones that are open to learn. The obvious follow-up question then is what does it take to understand the spiritual truth of a parable? When you look at Jesus' teachings as a whole, he explained that our primary purpose is not to follow a specific set of rules so that we can have the right answers to all life's problems. Instead, our primary purpose is to have a life changing relationship with the Creator of everything. It's a relationship not based on "what can you do for me?", but a relationship of loving interaction, including talking back and forth with God in everyday life. So with that purpose in mind, I believe Jesus' parables are confusing in order to get people to ask questions. The teaching happens when you ask God honest questions about things you don't understand, and listen and wait for the answer. If you're asking just to find the right answer, then you probably won't get a response. But if you're asking because you genuinely want to understand the deeper purpose in life, then you'll have the patience to hear the truth in its proper time.

But here is where we've lost the mysterious beauty of Jesus' parables. After 2000 years of priests and scholars and students toiling over every letter of every word Jesus spoke, we now have written explanations to every parable with additional commentary to apply it to your specific life situation. If a parable is confusing, just look up a clear explanation. But when so many answers are available with a simple online search, we've lost the value of a parable. We've lost the opportunity to wrestle with spiritual questions and to emerge from the fight, not smarter, but impacted for the better.

That is how this book of new parables started. While I was struggling with a confusing quote by Jesus, I asked God some honest questions about it. To my surprise, God answered in the unique way that helps me understand a difficult idea. He gave me a story.

At first, I could see only the opening setting of the story, so I started to write it down. As I wrote one sentence, the next sentence would become clear to me almost supernaturally. As I wrote that sentence, then the next sentence would become clear, then the next, and the next. When I was getting close to the end, I still had no idea what was going to happen. Only as I was writing the final sentence did I learn the ending of the story which perfectly answered my original question. I found a truth that I never could have imagined when I first asked. I was brought to tears by the conclusion. As I read the story again a few days later I was amazed at how simple but powerful it was. It was hard to believe I had written it.

Now I share these stories with you. Each chapter of this book is a standalone parable, but they do connect to the stories around them as well. For each parable, there is no explanation of the purpose or meaning. The goal is to recreate the mystery and wonder of Jesus' parables in order to inspire you to ask honest questions. If you faithful ask for an answer, you will find it.

The first parable helps get you started with a modern twist on one of Jesus' most popular parables.