Mind Games

Let anyone with ears listen.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!" - Matt. 13:1-9

Do you think we would remember anything Jesus said if he didn't speak in parables?

These moral stories are little mind games for us.  They make us think of things in new and unique ways.

In the parable of the sower, we are given several options to think about.

What are the chances of success for each option?  Will the seeds sown on the path even have a chance?  Will the seeds that fell on shallow soil become fruitful?

What is interesting is that we know the answers.  We don't need to be farmers to know seeds need rich soil and water to grow into fruitbearing plants, and yet we hear the lesson as though it is new and fresh.

Jesus leads us through each option and we follow him because we want to see if we have it all right.

Are we the ones with ears that hear?

We want to be.  We want the teacher to know we have the right answer.

The parables are our lessons, and we absorb them willingly because they are mental exercises, games we can play over and over again without losing interest.

It is true that we remember other things Jesus taught, like the Lord's Prayer and the Beatitudes from the Semon on the Mount, but these parables don't need to be memorized to be remembered.  They stick.

And we enjoy being stuck.

More to come...