Two Stories From The Storyteller

One thing that I have noticed after writing this weekly column for newspapers since November 2004 is that people like stories. I like them, too. Stories catch our attention, whether they are real or fiction or somewhere in between. Many of the songs of yesterday or today are people telling their stories or others' stories. So, we enjoy stories, storytelling, and even the storytellers who tell them.

In my speaking and writing, I’ve created a three-word statement that guides my writing: I try to Communicate Content Clearly. I think people love stories because they Communicate. The story connects the message with the audience. The story uses both the left and right sides of our brains. The story engages our attention to the end of the story.

I try to ensure the Content I use comes from the Bible's wisdom and just plain truth. To me, God’s Word is truth and wisdom. So much of today’s reading material is other people’s opinions or false creations. My articles are not political or the like. Truthful content sets people free because it’s the truth that sets us free. I want to elevate people, and the truth is the way to do that, especially through stories, unique anecdotes, or quotes mixed into the writing or speaking. 

You and I both know that clarity is a rarity in today’s world. So, truthful content communicated Clearly in an article or book or presented in story form is powerful. Why? Then you begin to see both the story and the lesson or message of the story clearly - obscurity has turned to clarity. 

In my opinion, Jesus is the best storyteller in history. You might say history is “His Story.” Jesus used storytelling to communicate life-changing truth clearly. Jesus knew that religion had messed up people’s perception of who God is and what God is like. Jesus knew that truth, storytelling, the power of revelation, and the exemplary life of the Storyteller (Jesus) were going to be the only way to connect God’s message with the audience.

So, here is the first short story in Matthew 21:28-32. It’s called The Story of the Two Sons. 

“Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, ‘Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.’ The son answered, ‘I don’t want to.’ Later on, he thought better of it and went. The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, ‘Sure, glad to.’ But he never went. ‘Which of the two sons did what the father asked?’ They said, ‘The first.’”

Let’s consider the first son. He said he wouldn’t go into the vineyard to work, but after he thought about it, he changed his mind and went to work in the vineyard. Like many today, his initial response to the Father (God) was, “I’m not interested.” Or maybe he didn’t even know anything about God at all. 

But after a while, after some life of hitting his head against a wall ten or twenty times, he began to see that maybe he wasn’t that all-powerful, all-knowing, ‘I got this under control’ cool guy he thought he was. He decided to exit the low road and take the high road of God. Even the religious elite said the first son was the one who did the will of the father. 

Now, let’s consider the second son. How many times have we told someone we would do something and then not do it? Many of us started out with God and then just got lost. We made a commitment of sorts to God but never carried it out. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we started on the high road but ended up on the low road. 

Luke 15 talks about the four kinds of lostness. There’s the story of the lost sheep. Lost sheep drift away from God. Then there’s the story of the lost coin that was dropped. Lost coins fall away from God, sometimes through the carelessness of others. Then, there is the story of the Prodigal Son. Prodigal sons are those whose hearts are astray and run away from God. Lastly, there is the story of the Prodigal son’s older brother. The older brothers are those whose hearts are far away from God. Just because you are in the right place doesn’t mean that you have the right heart. 

So, after Jesus told The Story of the Two Sons, what lesson or truthful content did Jesus want to communicate clearly?   

Jesus said, “Yes, and I tell you that those who are considered undesirable by you are going to precede you into God’s kingdom. John the Baptist came to you, showing you the right road. You turned up your nose at him, but the undesirable to you believed him. Even when you see their changed lives, you don’t care enough to change and believe him.”

What was the result? “When the religious leaders (like the prodigal son’s older brother) heard this story, they knew it was aimed at them.” Matthew 21:45. Unlike the elite leaders of that time, Jesus saw more in people than their past. Jesus saw more in people than their status. Jesus saw more in people than their sins.    

So, who is God, and what is God like? Look at Jesus. Jesus came to bring all those who had lost their way from God back to God. His was the greatest rescue project ever undertaken, and it was completed so the people Jesus rescued could fulfill their request from their Heavenly Father. Jesus came to write lost people - or once found, now lost people - back into God's story, like the first and second sons. It’s never too late to get back to the high road on this side of eternity. 

Next week, let’s explore the second story from the truthful Storyteller and learn who God is and what God is like.