What would we give for our children to become mighty oaks of righteousness? An hour of teaching on Sunday morning? A few hours of preparation? A regular weekly prayer for the children in your small group? A passing word of spiritual encouragement to a child in your class? Each of these small investments could reap an eternal harvest.
Suppose you go to a friend’s house for dinner and find the table set with fine china, a beautiful tablecloth, a fancy centerpiece, and other elegant features. How might this exquisite setting give you a hint about what is to come? How might it serve to guide your demeanor? Would you rightly express thanks and praise to your friend who is treating you with such honor? Or, would you do the unimaginable, and reject the meal and walk out in disgust?
This illustration can serve to highlight something important about the Gospel. Communicating the Gospel is best done by properly “setting the table,” so to speak. That is exactly what Sally Michael has done in her new book, The World Created, Fallen, Redeemed, and Restored.
simile: n. a figure of speech in which one thing is likened to anotherin one respect by the use of “like,” “as,” etc.
The Bible uses similes frequently. They paint pictures for our eyes so our minds can grasp biblical truth. They borrow our familiarity with the ordinary to help us understand the profound.
One hymn I learned early on was Standing On the Promises by R. Kelso Carter. The hymn included these memorable and reassuring words:
Standing on the promises that cannot fail, When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, By the living Word of God I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God.
Though I had the words and tune memorized, I don’t remember anyone actually describing and explaining what these promises were. What was I supposed to be standing on?