Saturday, February 23, 2008

The Lost Parables

Jesus told stories to teach about spiritual truth. And it seems to me that a lot of times his stories were like jokes. That is, he would set you up, and then deliver a punchline. Except the punchline, instead of making you laugh, exposed wrong thinking or attitudes. For instance, I have been thinking about a case in point.

Jesus is talking to some people who are considered bad. Today, they would be drug addicts, or people with AIDS.

He tells a story about someone who has 100 sheep and loses one. He goes, finds it and has a party to celebrate.

Then, he tells the story of a woman who has 10 coins, and loses one. She cleans the house, finds it and has a party to celebrate.

Anybody besides me feel the set up? How do people respond when they lose something valuable? They go crazy until they find it. They look in places they haven't been in month. They look in pockets of clothes they haven't been in years. And they celebrate when they find it.

Then, he tells the story of a father and two sons. The younger son insults the father, the family, their values and way of life. He demands his inheritance, and wastes it all in one big party.

Then, he gets into trouble. And he realizes that the lowest person working for his father is better off than he is. So, he goes home, apologizes to his father, and asks for a job. His father, instead of a two-hour I-told-you-so speech, throws a party to celebrate. (Anybody see a pattern here?)

Now the older son -- who did not trash the family and worked hard -- comes home, sees what's going on, and gets angry. What's the difference? Evidently, it's OK to celebrate finding a lost thing. And it's not OK to celebrate finding a lost person.

Somebody doesn't understand how a Father views His lost children. And how we should view them.

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