Parable 33 - The Explanation

Granny was trying to explain her faith to her grandson.

Butch was not a believer. As he put it, “I don’t believe in little green men who come from Mars, and I don’t believe in a magical being that controls the universe and answers my prayers like a fairy godmother.”

Granny said, “It’s not like that.”

“But what is it like?” he asked dismissively.

The idea of a perennial plant came to mind. She pictured it dying off in the fall but returning in the spring, but that wasn’t going to convince him. Granny also imagined how water evaporates and comes back as rain, yet that wasn’t going to convince her grandson that God was real.

“I’ll tell you what it’s like,” she said.

“Please do,” he retorted, his arms crossed.

“I met a man on my 21st birthday. He was charming, dapper, and kind. He was intelligent without being superior. We began to date, and before I reached my 22nd birthday, we were engaged. The next year I married your grandfather. We had two beautiful children and a lovely life.”

Butch grew concerned and said, “Granny, you don’t have to tell me this story. I don’t want to upset you.”

“I must tell it to you again, because maybe it contains the proof you seek.” Her eyes misted over as she continued. “At 38 years old, he was taken from me in a terrible car accident. So was my daughter. Suddenly, my son, your father, was all the family I had left. Yes, we survived, but that loss of your grandfather and my daughter, Lisa, sent me into a deep depression.”

Taking his grandmother’s hand, Butch smiled tenderly at her.

She smiled back. “I knew I had to continue to live my life, but it felt like an empty shell of what it had been. One night, in my dream, he visited me. Your grandfather didn’t use words, but somehow I knew that one day we would be together again. And if I can believe that, it opens the gate to believing in the mysterious force of God’s love never ending. I don’t know how it all works, but I know that goodness is real, and there is something more than this present life. I want you, Butch, to have hope and to benefit from love that never dies. That is what I believe.”

Meditation

Granny and Butch are like many of us. We are trying to figure out what our belief in God means in our everyday life. This belief affects our relationships, especially those between us, our kids, and grandkids. We can’t force people to believe in the existence of God, but perhaps modeling our belief is the best way to reveal God’s love to those we love.

Today’s scripture passage is one of the most important in the entire Bible. Our belief in Jesus is the source of life. The Christ energy of love is the key to life itself, and this life that Jesus offers survives even when our bodily existence ends as we know it.

As we move into the final portion of Lent, we know that Jesus will lose his life to be resurrected into a new reality, a reality that He invites each of us to join. One day, we shall each see for ourselves what awaits us. It is coming, and with it comes the hope in that which never dies and that which gives light to the world.

And everyone who has not figured out how to believe in God will receive the explanation that they long to hear.

Water the seed and ask yourself...

How do I explain my faith?