One of the methods Jesus used to teach was using narratives, parables, and
analogies (Glenn et al., 2015). When working with youth, I love using different
types of analogies and ways of relating what I am talking about to something
they are familiar with. I was once working with a young teen that had
experienced a lot of death that year with family and a pet. I discussed with
him the process and stages of grieving, and how he would eventually go
through that process with each of his losses. This helped to explain how
overwhelmed and anxious he had been feeling. I explained that it was like
falling behind on homework, and new assignments keep getting assigned
before he could even finish the first ones. The best way to tackle
overwhelming and numerous tasks like that is to just do a little and sort
through one at a time.
An example in the Bible where Jesus uses this method is when he is speaking
to his disciples about how they will experience persecution while spreading
God’s word (Matthew 10:22-27). Jesus tells them to not be afraid, because the
worst that others can do is kill their physical body but not their soul (Matthew
10:29). He tells them that the only one who has power over both the physical
body and soul is God (Matthew 10:28). Jesus goes on to explain that God
loves every single one of His creations, and that he knows when even a single
sparrow falls (Matthew 10:29). Jesus continues that God knows even the
number of hairs on each of their heads (Matthew 10:30). If you consider a
single sparrow in all of the world, it seems like such a tiny part of the world
overall. However, God cares if this sparrow becomes ill or meets another such
fate (Matthew 10:29). He knows every detail, even the number of hairs on each
person’s head at any given time (Matthew 10:30). These go to show that no
matter the tiniest detail or event, God is all-knowing. There is nothing that goes
on in this world that He does not know about, and thus He knows all truth.
This could be taken even farther to speak to how God knows also what is in
our head and hearts. If we are doing things with good intention, He knows. So
even if things do not go well, He knows that we meant well. Likewise, if we do
things with ulterior motives, He also knows. This does not mean he will
prevent us from feeling pain, or bad things from happening. We are still on this
Earth to learn, grow, and feel. We also have to fight in this battle between
good and evil. However, He knows what is going on and is on our team, so if
we call to Him, He is listening.
There have been times in my life where things have gotten so rough, that I
have asked myself “Why?” “Why must I experience so much pain and
heartache?” Only later to discover that it was a lesson I really needed to learn
in life in order to discover my true value, or to experience something so that I
may better relate to others as I am working with youth. What are some times
that you recall that you have felt this way, then later realize what God’s greater
plan was?
References
