He was a great teller of tales and stories. He knew how to draw in a crowd with his words and seemed to always be prepared to respond to almost any question by giving an illustration or idea to consider. Generally speaking, his stories have always proven to be fairly concise and seemed to never be shared without a goal of bringing in the audience for them to contemplate the truth of what his message might be. He seemed to see his thoughts as more than mere entertainment but as intense challenges for people to evaluate and integrate into their lives. As a result, his stories brought a mixture of response as some hearers were engaged by his words while others were repelled. He challenged lifestyle matters and pushed the listeners to action.
While sometimes offending those to whom he spoke, he never seemed to compromise from the truth that he felt must be shared. He did, at times, speak in rather indirect and creative ways that even frustrated his most loyal of friends. When this occurred, they showed a lack of understanding and had to ask why he wasn’t more direct and clear with his words? At other times, his target audience was “cut to the core” by words that were as sharp as a razor’s blade. Never intending harm with his tongue, he spoke with meaning, dedication, and sensitivity. Yet, the sensitivity was towards the urgency to see men and women do internal inspection of their own values and goals in their lives followed by lifestyle changes. The intent was to remind the hearers that we are responsible for the decisions and lives we lead. He cared deeply for the people he shared his stories with and loved them enough to be instructive and directive.
To be called a “Christian” is to be a follower of Christ. The Christ that we follow was far from the soft and gentle picture that we often see of Jesus. If we look clearly at the spiritual depth of Christ, we find his love blended with his dedication of purpose….what a model! Yes, Jesus was the model storyteller as he used parables and examples to encourage individuals to be bold and courageous with the lives they have. Love means being a person of conviction and integrity. May we learn to risk criticism, even to the point of rejection from some, in order that others may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord. Not everyone will like how you tell your parables and stories but, then again, following Christ means that we understand this potential rejection, eh?
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祂是一個偉大的說故事人。祂知道如何用 祂的故事吸引聽眾，如果有人向 祂提出任何問題，祂永遠準備好實例或供回答讓人思考。 一般來說，祂的故事都很精簡，卻沒有不令聽眾沈思 祂的信息到底是什麼。祂的想法不僅具娛樂性，更挑戰人評估及整合他們的生命。結果，祂的故事帶來不同的反應：有些人服從，有些人拒絕；祂挑戰他們生活模式並推促聽眾行動。
有時 祂會冒犯聽眾，但 祂從不妥協 祂覺得需要分享的事實。祂使用的間接性及有創意的講述方式，有時甚至令 祂最忠實的朋友都氣餒。當這樣情形發生時，他們會說不明白而問 祂，為什麼不更直接、明白地說 祂要說的話？ 另外有時，祂的言語銳利如刀、一針見血。祂從未想用舌傷人，祂說的話帶有意思，忠誠及敏銳感。敏銳感是要所有人急切自我檢視生命價值及目標之後，改變生活模式。這是為了提醒聽眾要為他們所要做的決定及生命負責。祂深切關心那些 祂分享故事的人；祂愛他們，所以教導、指引他們。
基督徒」是 基督的跟隨者。我們跟隨的 基督不是我們常常看到的那樣溫和軟弱的；如果看清楚 基督的靈命深度，我們會發現 祂的愛和 祂的獻身目的是合而為一的。耶穌是說故事人的極好榜樣，祂用寓言及例子鼓勵個人生命要大膽及勇敢！一個悔改、正直的人有愛；為了救他人認識 主耶穌基督，我們要學習冒險被批評，甚至冒險被人拒絕。不是每個人都喜歡聽你說的寓言及故事，但是我們都知道跟隨 耶穌會有被拒絕的潛在性，對不對？