Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in your HomeSample

The Power of Parables

Bridesmaids, sweeping, baking, seeds, birds, gardening, landlords, and neighbors—Jesus talked about all kinds of mundane things. He used these parables about mundane things to make a point—many points, actually, about his Father and what his kingdom is like. The parables of Jesus revealed things, shedding light on the mundane moments of our lives and made us see ourselves in God’s story. He also used parables to emphasize that his teachings were concealed from people who were blind and deaf to the things of God (Matthew 13:13).

The mundane moments of our lives at home are replete with examples and living illustrations for us to behold the glory of Jesus. That’s why we don’t need to avoid our ordinary-ness. And we ought not spend our energy worshiping the stuff in our lives, either. God is holy and he fellowships with us as we are in the midst of our every day lives. The Son of God entered his own creation, after all.

This is a good opportunity for us to test ourselves. Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear what God would teach us about himself and his kingdom? Or are we focused on ourselves and our stuff? We should frequently ask ourselves (and ask our friends to ask us as well), is your role or identity as a homemaker or mother the object of your affections? Do you lose your cool when that identity is threatened? Are you a slave to building or maintaining your image?

We need to remember that life in the body, when presented to the Lord as a living sacrifice because of his mercy, is holy and acceptable in his sight.