Living the Parable

[HKHaugan]

Living the Parable

A parable is the use of a visible reality to describe an invisible reality. Carrying on the parable theme we can see it expanded in eight ways to view the essence of what a parable is.

First, Jesus is a parable, the Parable. He is the visible expression of the invisible God. The way Jesus believes is the mind of God. The way Jesus trusts is the heart of God. The way Jesus acts is by faith through the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit and ministry of Jesus. Jesus said that when you have seen Him you have seen the Father and that He and the Father are One. He is the exact image of God. Jesus is the Parable of parables just like He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He gives us spiritual sight

Second, when you read Scripture you are reading a parable. Jesus said that the Word is truth. You open it and search its pages. You are searching a parable, a verbal and written picture of the mind of God, the truth of God and the Spirit. There you find the will of the Father, the heart of the Son and the work of the Spirit; belief, trust and faith.

Third, the ‘church’ is a parable. When you worship you are among worshipers who are the visible gathering of the invisible spiritual Body of Christ. The 'institutional churches’ are not the Body, the people are (1st Cor.12:27). They are the hearts of gathered images of God who believe in His invisible presence in them and among them. The institution is merely a structural concept to serve Jesus. Paul is clear about this when he says the Lord's intent, “...was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Eph.3:10-11).”

Fourth, all of Creation is a parable. It is a visible image of the orderly and creative mind, heart and Spirit of the Creator. It is a definitive structural existence with every detail in place for the unified support of every part by the other.

Fifth, you and I are parables. Therefore, what is most important for us to realize and take to heart is that each of us is a parable made in the image of the Parable. Yes, you and I are parables waiting to happen in every next moment. We are parables of faith in motion wherever we are, living expressions of an invisible reality. We are not a human beings having a spiritual experience, you and I are spiritual persons having a human experience. What we believe, who we trust, how we act, all reflect something invisible becoming visible. Our visible body acts out what our invisible self-consciousness decides. We are kings of our heart kingdom.

Sixth, 'Kingdom' is a parable. Again, Jesus the King of the Kingdom of God stands at our kingdom’s gates. ‘Kingdom’ is a parable of the capacity God has given each of us to be like Him, open, creative, inviting, inventive, free to receive, filled with grace (the way He accepts us), truth (the way He thinks) and love (the atmosphere of His Kingdom) in order to build His Kingdom. All of that is accessible through faith in His Son Jesus.

Seventh, every act, every invention, every discovery, every work of art, of music, of architecture, literature, every field of man’s work is a parable of what lies within the mind, heart and spirit of the people that produce them. They are man’s kingdoms seeking to express the mystery of being; of working with the skills and gifts they develop, to expand their kingdom. When Jesus the King of all kingdoms and kings is allowed to enter the smaller domains, He enriches them with His personal presence and they break out of their confines to be even more creative. They further the picture of the real and final Kingdom of hearts. These Jesus will make into the ‘new Heaven and new earth’ He promised when He returns.

Eighth, language is a parable. What makes Jesus’ parables unique are the way they pinpoint the mind and heart of individuals to see the One behind Creation, the Creator of the mind, heart and soul. When Jesus teaches in parables He is doing what is the most natural and direct way to reach the heart because that is the way He acted when He created the universe. The universe is a parable of God, a language of sight and sound. When His parables become the center of how we think the result is that our personal parable-life becomes an extension and expansion of our creative God and experience He designed for us. The Kingdom of Heaven is an unfolding, moving and glorious reality of being constantly involved in the joyful sense of continual insight, open relationships and the flowing love of a happy nurturing God showering His people with a never ending sense of being fulfilled.

How do we know this? When we see Jesus we see someone constantly on the move, opening heart-gates, creatively and spontaneously reacting and responding with love, clarity and confidence. Jesus lived in a relational mode using the material world to accomplish spiritually relational goals. Jesus was always building, building, building. For Jesus it was all about His Father’s will, His Word and His Presence. That atmosphere of faith, grace, truth and love, His ministry in the Spirit, was and is the essence of His mission.

Jesus, the Parable of parables, is giving each of us the picture of the Kingdom of God, His Kingdom, and offering us a personal partnership in its planting in this world. Truly, the Kingdom of God is within. And, we are living the parable.

I really like the way the Message Bible paraphrases Jesus, the Parable: “He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross (Col.1:19-20 Message Bible).”