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The Son of God was a storyteller. He taught with parables.
When a recent quiet time took me to the parable about the lamp on the stand, I made a connection that I had never made before.
Could we be today’s version of these powerful short stories shared by Christ to teach truth? Should we be sharing our stories just as Jesus shared His stories [parables] in order to help draw people down the path of righteousness?
Most people I know want to make a difference. Most people want to be significant. No one wants to leave this world as if they had never been here – forgotten or just simply idle. It’s one of my greatest fears. I don’t believe this stems from pride but from the way God has designed me with a divine purpose that only I can fill. Even those who struggle greatly with the idea that their lives are worth living, struggle because they want to be someone to someone else.
I firmly believe God created each of us with a unique purpose. In fact, I’d go to many lengths to argue that concept. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” A workmanship as described in this Scripture as someone made with a high level of skill, artistry, and purpose.
When that inner voice tells me, “You were made for more,” I feel compelled to believe it! Not only that, but we are already equipped to be significant. We are already prepared to be someone to someone else. How?
We are all walking parables.
We are teachers and storytellers, and the parables we are teaching and sharing are ones that only we can tell. We all have unique stories, ones that point to God’s redemption, grace, love, strength, or wisdom. And, only we are the experts of our own stories. There are currently over seven billion people in the world. However, only we have our particular story. Only we can teach about what we’ve done, what we’ve learned, what God did, how He showed up, and how we responded. Our stories are told through our unique lenses and personalities. There are no other authors that can write our stories the way we can. No other teachers who can teach through our experiences. That’s at least seven billion stories walking around this place. Seven billion parables that can point someone else to the God who redeems and loves us.
When Jesus – our model Teacher – spread the Good News, He used short stories to highlight and clarify a particular moral truth or spiritual lesson. The parables often included the evidence of the ongoing battle between good and evil. The stories outlined how we should respond in situations and how we should think and act to glorify God. He also used parables to hide the meaning of His lessons from those whose hearts were hardened.
Take the parable of the Lamp on the Stand. It’s recorded in Luke 8:16-18.
“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”
What happens if we live out God’s love for others and our verbal testimony of faith matches our behaviors and actions? Our lamps brightly shine, our lives can be open books, and we become filled by the Holy Spirit. If we don’t live by God’s Word, our lamps become hidden (an intentional decision, by the way), our lives become shallow, and we start squirreling away our secrets. We lose authenticity; the Spirit within us is effectively squashed.
The lesson Jesus is teaching is not to focus on how much God has given us to this point – it is what we do with what God has given! My question to you now is one I have continually asked myself—What are you doing with what God has given you?
What God has given us all is grace, mercy, love, and the experiences that point to these gifts. You’re a parable. I’m a parable too.
2 Corinthians 4:6 teaches, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”
We are all like jars of clay, with cracks (experiences).
We all have redemption stories stemming from those cracks (lamps on stands).
We all have light shining forth that proclaim not the lamp itself, but the Light (Jesus).
We can all share our lamps, allow Light to penetrate the dark, and glorify God.
Jesus used parables to speak through darkness and alight wisdom in our hearts. Our life journeys are filled with short stories that pit good versus evil. They are filled with stories of God’s love and redeeming grace. Our mistakes are not wasted. Our sins are not unique. We are the present-day parables that could – should – change someone else’s life.
Embrace your story. Share it. Find joy in your journey. None of us is perfect. But, isn’t that the point? You are making a difference. You are a game-changer. What’s your lesson? What truth do you have to teach? What aspect of His Light can you put on the stand for others to see?
I would love to hear about it. More importantly, someone else needs to hear about it.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for our cracks, our stories, and the ability to shine with Your goodness, despite the darkness. I pray we all keep that lamp on the stand, and don’t hide it away, lest we burn down our souls. We are all teachers of our own life lessons, and I know it would honor You for us to be walking parables for others’ blessings. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Influenced by my prayer life, my life verse (2 Corinthians 4), the Bible verses referenced above, Merriam-Webster, icuTalks (non-profit organization that allows people to share their stories publicly) and the struggles within my community.
©2016 As a Clay Jar. All rights reserved.
©2016 As a Clay Jar. All rights reserved.
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