Holy tutoring

This week's magnificent secret is Mark 4:30-34:

Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus shared a lot of knowledge through stories. Not only are stories a great way to secretly share controversial teaching in a way that you can later deny, but they also allow you to transmit a lot of information in a small space. Think of them as cleverly disguised knowledge bombs. "Hey, what a nice little story about mustard seeds... *BAM!* Wow, now I understand the kingdom of God!" Meanwhile the bureaucrats listening to the same teaching, who have no interest in learning about God, but would love to gather some incriminating quotes, don't hear anything but a bunch of harmless boring farm talk.

The thing is, the parable doesn't always detonate. Some people's minds are a bit damp and dull. I know a couple people who don't get parables at all. If you tell them a story, they just stare back at you with glassy eyes and an irritated expression for having wasted their time. "Dude, I asked you to teach me something cool about God, so why are you blathering on about goats and crap? Are you messing with me?" So what do those people do?

The good news is that Jesus loves "those people." Some of "those people" were his disciples and close friends. He'd teach stuff that we all understand clearly, but a few people were still confused. He didn't leave them stranded. He explained everything to them.

Parables allow God to charge our brains up like Neo's kung fu lesson in The Matrix. In very little time, we can learn a lot. Still, if we don't have the kind of brains that can learn from stories, we are not left out. God won't let people remain in ignorance if they want understanding. He'll break knowledge into whatever size pieces we can chew.

If there's something you don't understand about God and his kingdom, and you want to know it, rest assured that he will give you your answers. Along with being interested in mankind getting to know him, he is interested in you specifically. Ask him to explain things you don't understand. He'll teach you all you want to know.