Parables - short stories - are very effective ways to communicate ideas. Again and again we read in the Scriptures parables which are used to communicate God’s message to us. Jesus is a master at the short story. He tells us that the kingdom of God is like a father who had a son leave home with his inheritance. The son is welcomed home after a disastrous journey. Or, the kingdom of God is like a woman who lost a coin and celebrates when she finds it. Or, the kingdom of God is like a field with a treasure in it. From these and other short stories it is easy to tell what Jesus is trying to say to us. The point is clear.

The use of short stories to make a point should not be surprising to us. Our own society uses short stories continually to make a point. If you watch any commercial television…