Plain as Day

04.26.13

Matthew 13.35 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” (ESV)

We hear Jesus’ parables tend to and want to interpret them. His parables were as plain as day. Jesus used illustrations from everyday life to explain how the Kingdom worked: “The kingdom is as plain as day – it’s like…” And then He’d explain it to them.

Most of Jesus’ parables were very simple. Most of what He explained to them what something that was right in front of them. He said, “I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” Everything He talked about was right out of ordinary life. Sometimes the most miraculous is found right in the middle of the most mundane.

For most of us, religion and relationships tend to get messy. Then we compound these things with rules of engagement: it’ll only work if I do this and don’t do that. God will love me if I can just quit doing that and just start doing this. Personally, I think most folks would rather follow a list of rules than embark on a friendship with God because they think rules are easy to follow and God is not; rules are easy to see and God is not. Rules are written in my language and God seems to speak another.

What was hidden to the folk of Jesus’ day was the possibility of friendship with God. Not many of them then understood what it meant to be God’s friend; not many today do either. So, Jesus made it simple and plain – and obvious – to them. If life with God is complicated, it is only because we want to complicate it with rules: you can only achieve this if you only do that.

The funny thing is what scared most of them then is what still scares most of us today: we fear what friendship with God will do to us. We fear it will make us pariahs. We fear it will make us odd. We fear God will peer into our lives and point out our junk and make us deal with it. We fear God’s supposed motive of unconditional love really does have strings attached.

It’s not complicated to the one who takes God at His word: I love you! It’s not complicated to the one who is relieved to find God has removed the rules and doesn’t want them either. God understands that if we just hang out with Him our lives will change in remarkable and creative ways. He wants us to understand that too!

What seems so hard to do is right in front of us: what has been hidden since the foundation of the world has been revealed and it’s as normal and obvious as everyday, ordinary life. Will we allow God to be our Friend? Will we cease mistrusting His motives fearing He wants to take something from us we don’t want to give or make us do something we don’t want to do? Do we really want life to be better? Do we really think with God it could be?

Jesus said it was as plain as day…

Lord, help me to see as You see and to love as You love – Amen.