OCCASIONALLY, in the course of my work, I visit an area where houses are being demolished. It is not uncommon to find the remains of one house joined to a property left standing. Up against a gable wall will be evidence of a fireplace now gone. There may be a chimney breast still tastefully wallpapered, but exposed to the weather. It looks strangely out of place outside. It was once a part of someone's home. It feels strange to discover something so private. Even though it is only part of a derelict site, it is a little piece of someone's life laid bare.

Yet our lives are always laid bare before God. He sees into the darkest corners of our hearts. Even things we would have kept secret are open and known to Him. We may sometimes wonder how God regards us. What does He see in our lives? How do we look to Him?

Parables are designed to help us see ourselves from God's point of view. When King David had sinned, God sent the prophet Nathan to speak to him. Nathan knew that he would get nowhere by confronting David with his sin. Instead, he told him a story. A rich man with great flocks received an honoured guest. To entertain this guest he did not take a lamb from his own very large flocks. Instead he took the only ewe lamb of a poor servant and killed that.

Self Condemned
King David was angry. He felt this was a mean and despicable act. He immediately pronounced his judgment on the man who would do such a thing. He ought to die. Then the prophet turned the tables on him. "You are the man," he said.

David could see the matter so clearly when he thought he was not involved. He was able, through the parable, to see himself from a third party standpoint. He was able to see himself as he appeared to God. He was able to judge fairly and had condemned himself.

This is how parables work. They help us to stand outside ourselves and to look at ourselves objectively. Sometimes we are too close to a situation to make reasoned decisions about it. Maybe we do not see the whole picture. We make allowances for ourselves. Because we are involved, our judgments are prejudiced.

The Parable of the Devil
What the Bible says about the devil is a sort of parable too. There does not exist any fallen angel in opposition to God. God is supreme. Angels cannot sin. Those who believe in fallen angels rely on verses snatched out of context and misapplied. They take sections of Revelation, the last book, and apply them to the Genesis story. This is no way to treat the Bible.

Yet the Bible does speak of a devil, a blasphemer, and about a satan, one who opposes God. It does not do this so that we may have someone else to blame for our sins. It does this to help us appreciate how wicked we all are. It wants us to see ourselves as God sees us. It wants us to know how easily we can deceive ourselves. We have a tremendous battle on our hands to overcome our own human nature. Jesus said:-

"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts,.."
(Mark 7:21)

The parable pictures of the devil are there to bring home how serious a fight we must wage. It is vital that we overcome our own natural desires if we are to please God.

Jesus often used parables in his teaching. He was able to use graphic illustrations from everyday life in which people could identify themselves. From those he helped men and women to see the real issues in their lives, as they appear to God.

The parable of the good Samaritan tells of the victim of a vicious attack. Those who might have been expected to help did not. A stranger who had no reason to be kind was the one who took pity on him. The story invites us to make comparisons.

We would all like to feel that we would behave as the good Samaritan. In practice we do not. We so often pass by the good things that we could do. We refuse to help because we see no reason why we should. Jesus makes our obligations plain. He presses home the point when he says, "Go and do likewise".

The parable of the sower is also well known. The seed of the gospel falls on different kinds of earth. On some it takes root and grows well. On others it cannot take root, or it cannot find water. For one reason or another it never matures and yields a harvest.

Looking at Ourselves
Jesus' words invite self-examination. They demand that we overhaul the stony places of our hearts and root out the weeds from our lives. Only then can the gospel take effect in our lives.

These vivid pictures of the parables help us in a way that words would not. They present the lesson clearly so that we may appreciate its truth. Then there dawns the realisation that each of us must make the application to ourselves.

It is here that the audience begins to disappear. Applying these things can be most uncomfortable. Yet it was for this reason that Jesus used parables. Then, as now, they often sifted his hearers. Some were willing to listen, but could not see that it had anything to do with them. It was always about the other fellow.

It was those with "ears to hear" that Jesus sought. He wanted people prepared to listen and own the truth of what he said. He was looking for people of understanding, willing to consider his message and act on it.

"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, Their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their heart and turn, So that I should heal them."
(Matthew 13:13-15)

There are many other parables in Scripture of course. Some portray different aspects of the kingdom of God. Some are not told, but are acted out in the lives of men and women. Their purpose is always the same, however. It is that we should seek out the deeper significance for ourselves. Those who seek, God will bless and they will find. It just requires ears that really want to hear. 