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I always love the parable Sower sowing the seeds on the different types of soil. Anytime I hear the parable I ask myself what type of soil am I at this stage of my life? Too often, I don't like where I'm at, even right now I feel like I'm the soil that's full of thorny vines, and as good as the scripture is too often I let the garbage of life steal my joy.
The ending of this chapter talks of how Jesus travels to His home town where He isn't able to do many miracles because of their unbelief. Such a contrast from earlier chapters where people asked that only Jesus speak out a word or if they could touch the hem of His garment and be healed.
This passage has several parables, which one is your favorite and why?
Blessings!
Matthew 13
ReplyDelete3 Then he used stories as illustrations to tell them many things.
10,11 The disciples asked him, “Why do you use stories as illustrations when you speak to people?” Jesus answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you. But it has not been given to the crowd.
34 Jesus used illustrations to tell the crowds all these things. He did not tell them anything without illustrating it with a story.
51-53 “Have you understood all of this?” “Yes,” they answered. So Jesus said to them, “That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure chest.” When Jesus had finished these illustrations, he left that place.
I love how Jesus uses every day things to bring correlation to what we can visualize. Bringing the ethereal to tangible e/the/real! [I love seeing other words within a word; com/passion ~*~ walk with encouragers not ne/gators; I can just see the teeth of these “gators.” be/attitudes, pro/vision] I have a visual story. My brother and I went to the farm where we lived in Arkansas when he was born. He had not been back and tried to find it on his own one time. Two illustrations: When we drove up with the oldest daughter from our neighboring farm, the white clapboard was covered with natural stone. Over the field we walked and the barn was still as far away as our “little legs” remembered. There it is! We can see two sides, the front and one side. As we walk around to the back and other side, it is open! The rocks taken to put on the house. An illusion of a complete barn. [What are we exposing to those who see; our true self?] We walk up the hill and I am wanting to show him the apple orchard with all the varieties of apples. Now there are only thorn trees? Lord, how did this happen?? They were not tended. They were allowed to revert to thorns!
In looking for a photo to illustrate, I found this site and... it is a mere 50 miles east on the same highway. http://jasonsstory.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/thorn-tree.jpg
I think on of my favorite parables in the one of the Mustard Seed. It kind of reminds me of the story of David and Goliath. Even though we may feel small and insignificant, if we have faith, that faith can grow into a life with many blessings. In turn, the big "plant" can produce more seeds that will also grow as long as we take care of it.
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