Devotion - Thursday, January 22

Mark 4:34 informs us "With many such parables (Jesus) spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything."

I like parables as much as the next guy; but they do frustrate me at times.  Particularly when the interpretation I have differs significantly from the interpretation of my conversation partner. I struggle to determine "which one of us is correct?"

A correct interpretation is a valued thing; we are continually engaged in getting the right answers. How then are we to embrace a writing so full of stories needing interpretation?

I do not want to lose the message of what Jesus communicates in his parables. But there is thought I would share as to why Jesus may have chosen this style of speech. That reason is shown forth in the final phrase of verse 34.

Parables required conversation. Parables cause us to talk to one another. Parables need to be followed up with discussion.

Maybe Jesus speaks only in parables (in public) so that the general public becomes interested in a deeper, more intimate conversation as to what these sayings mean in their own lives.

I wonder if we miss something when we think the preferred designation is "being a Christian." Maybe we need to realize that the status Jesus hopes for us is to "be a follower." That Jesus wants us to join our lives with another and with that other to discover the direction in which our life will take us.

While we may want answers as to correct interpretation, what Jesus hopes for is a conversation among his followers as to what the word means for us, in our lives. The answers aren't the end toward which we move; rather it is allowing our lives to become entangled with the lives of others.