For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved teaching. In my opinion, a significant part of teaching is giving the material meaning. I think of this as the “What’s in it for me?” principle. I learned about the principle in my master’s program, but I’ve followed it long before that.
When we give meaning to the unknown, it often shifts from the “scary unknown” to the “familiar unknown.” Of all the teachers who have ever lived, I count Jesus as the best. As you may know, Jesus often taught in parables. In Matthew 13, Jesus explains why:
This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”
Matthew 13:13 (NIV)
Parables reflect the difference between telling someone something and making them think for themselves because they both reveal and conceal. When someone is open to the Gospel, they will not only think about the parable, but also ask questions and be open to the responses. But when someone has a hardened heart, like the people Jesus describes in Matthew 13, even hearing the truth does not necessarily lead to understanding.
We sometimes forget that parables are stories. While each parable has a lesson (or two), we shouldn’t take the parables literally.
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