Parables are spiritual truths and principles dressed in short stories or similes and metaphors, comparing them to natural things familiar to us. Things like clouds, birds, stars, candles, rays of light, a bug or weed, or games children play, or countless other things.
Christ taught many profound truths through parables, and people of all generations are drawn to them. But did you know that you can spot parables in the things around yourself and use them to teach others, your children, for example, some invisible principle that they can apply in many ways the rest of their lives?
I found these steps in a parenting class textbook. Immediately, I saw that this could be done by writers too, who want to write short inspirational pieces to submit to editors of magazines, or web sites. For a a standard writer's fee, hopefully, right? But you might also donate your writing, if you wish.
First, 13 places you might spot a parable, then the four steps for turning your observation into parables. Notice, some analytical thinking is a requirement.
Do you see a parable?
1. Observe what is happening in your front or back yard.
2. Look up in the sky and all around you. What reminds you of God, or His ways and truths?
3. Pay attention as you go to or from school or work.
4. Incidents in your family or circle of friends.
5. From watching a gadget or machine.
6. Draw something from a sunrise, sunset or eclipse.
7. study an animal, its shape, colour, habits.
8. Get down to look at bugs, grass, weeds, a rock, or flower, the dew.. . etc..
9. Get to know a plant, insect or some birds.
10. Watch a building being built, or torn down.
11. Ponder events of laughter, sadness, death, or dying.
12. Consider an athletic contest, or watch children play.
13. Quietly think about any object, person, phenomena, or elements you are exposed to.
Before you write your own, you might want to study the examples in the Bible to get a good grasp of what makes
a winsome parable. Check out these Bible references;
Matt.13:3-8 & 18-23;
Matt.18:23-35;
Matt.25:1-13 and 14-30;
Mark 2:21 & 27;
Luke 14:7-11.
STEPS FOR WRITING PARABLES
STEP 1
Observe the physical phenomena around you. Identify the elements interacting and interrelating both within the subject and with the things around it. Use the above list to get you going.
STEP 2
Jot down the attributes of God your observations make you think of, ie. His loving sacrifice, providential care, His sovereignty, wisdom, justice, grace, mercy, power or His omnipresence, and more. All of creation declares God's glory, so if nothing else, anything you point to is going to prove what a wonderful Creator of the universe He is!
Or what about a principle for how to relate among ourselves as humans? Or God to us, or we to Him? Do you catch an illustration of good versus evil, or God versus Satan?
In Proverbs, an ant is pointed out as an example of how we should work and save for the future. Bill Gothard of Life Principles, (http://www.iblp.org) has written several lovely volumes of such studies of animals and birds to use for teaching children good character traits. Excellent!
STEP 3
Share your thoughts with someone else. Basically to see if you are able to communicate the truth or principle you spotted in your parable, but also because someone else may add extra insight to your thoughts. Your parable may have more than one point to it, or have one main point but several applications to our lives.
STEP 4
Now write down your parable in as simple and direct a way as you can. Let it rest a few days. You can be working on several parables, and go back over them every so often to polish and improve if you can.
Remember your parable may be told as a straight simile or metaphor (this is like that), or you can weave a little plot into it to make a short short story, or you could write it up as a poem or song too.
When you can't seem to find ways to improve it any more, do up a nice clean copy and find your suitable markets to send it to.
If you have children, or you are a teacher, by all means use your parables to teach them some profound spiritual truths that will bless and help them all their lives.
Back to Writing/Publishing (index).
Ruth Marlene Friesen
The Responsible One
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