Spell It Out

"In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them."
Mark 4:33-34

Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. He used patience, love, and compassion as he taught. He never ridiculed or belittled someone for not being able to grasp what he was saying.

To me, Cricket is a pointless game. I'm not familiar with the finer parts of strategy used to put the team in a position to win. For instance, the fine, the deep mid, the silly, the short square, the leg slip, the gully . . . By not being familiar with these terms, I will find myself in the wrong place at the wrong time and will simply lose the game for my team. Where could I learn the terminology for the game? It's available in the encyclopedia. But learning the terminology and actually playing the game are two different things entirely. Playing the positions well can only come from experience on the cricket field, so I would need hours of practice to become good at it. I would have to develop a love or passion for the game.

Jesus was a master at speaking in riddles for the public while at the same time teaching his disciples valuable lessons. He spoke with words that both taught and challenged. He taught those who could hear with faith and challenged those who were trying to trap him. There were times, however, when even the disciples were unable to understand Jesus. Then rather than humiliate or belittle them, Jesus would patiently explain everything to them in detail. Jesus knew that as the disciples gained experience in the mission field, their understanding of his parables would grow. As their understanding grew, their love and passion for the gospel would grow as well. Meanwhile, Jesus took the time to spell parables out for the disciples by defining terms or by retelling the stories more simply.

Sometimes it may seem that things would go faster if we just used shortcuts to get the task at hand over and done with. However, in the long run, spelling things out and bringing new people along can be more efficient than doing it all on our own. Growing people into their positions takes patience and diligence. It requires commitment to the betterment of that other person. It requires the ability to see beyond the task at hand to the value of the person at hand.

Are we as patient as Jesus was with new Christians at church, or even new people at our workplace? The patience we show to our teammates can make the difference between a weak team and a strong, maturing, effective team.

Are you on Jesus' team? Would you like to be? To learn more about Jesus, or to begin a relationship with him that is like no other relationship you've ever known, click on one of the church links on this page. If you would just like someone to talk to or pray with, feel free to contact me directly; rlwhitener@gmail.com Please include "prayer request" in the subject line.

Thanks for following along,
God Bless