The Unworthy Saint

I’ve said before that I see metaphor, to some degree, as a sign of intelligence.  The ability to see one thing and relate it to another, the ability to make connections, not everyone is good at doing it.  However, I think metaphor, or simile, is really important.  The ability to relate two things, to show how they’re alike is all through Jesus’ teaching.  What is the kingdom of God?  It’s like a mustard seed in a garden or like yeast worked into dough. (Luke 13.18-21)  The same method is apparent in marriage as a metaphor for Christ and His church.

If Christ thought it was important to compare things for the sake of teaching, and if much of the world is wired to reflect God’s glory through our comparison of creation to who God says He is, why do we not place more importance on pointing out each metaphor we see?  Why do we keep these glimpses to ourselves?  Would it not be life-giving to be able to look anywhere and see some truth about who God is, through His creation?  Would it not inspire?  Would it not be helpful in evangelism to be able to point out one thing or another and say “God is like this and He is like that?”  Maybe it’s that we aren’t good at seeing the metaphors in the first place, perhaps that’s the reason we don’t share them – we never see them in the first place.

I see that the work of metaphor, the work of comparing, while all will ultimately fall short, is extremely necessary and important – so important that we need people doing it more. Metaphor is inspiring.  We need the people who see metaphor everywhere, to inform the rest of us.  We need teachers who are like Jesus in the way they teach – perhaps as much as we need teachers who are of Jesus in the way they walk.  We need to have the eyes of God…