The Lord Often Taught with Parables

     Throughout his ministry Christ told many parables. Parables are stories that are told that have a deeper meaning to them. Christ taught in parables in order to hid the actual meaning allowing those who truly wanted to learn more about Christ and the gospel to seek and find the answers within the parables while those who did not wish to learn more about the gospel simple saw the parable as a neat story. It also allowed those to get their personal revelation that they needed. It makes me think of how everyone reads the scriptures but each gets something out of them that applies directly to their life. The Holy Ghost speaks to us through the scriptures and the parables that Jesus taught and those who are diligently searching the scriptures for gospel knowledge will find it and those who are simply just reading will find a story.

     Christ told many parables and this week we focused on Matthew chapter 13 and the parables told within that chapter. They teach of the future of the world, the church, and the followers of Christ:

The parable of the tares (Matthew 13:24-30): when Christ comes again, he will separate those who are striving to follow Christ and live righteously from those who have rejected him and chose to live unrighteous.  

The parable of the mustard seed and the leaven (Matthew 13:31-33): The Kingdom of Heaven on the earth would start out small and then become greater at time went on.

The parable of the gospel net (Matthew 13:47-50): tares in the sense that God will send missionaries (the net) to teach the gospel and in the last days the Lord will separate the righteous from the unrighteous according to his righteous judgment.

The parable of the treasure and the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44-46): Someone who finds the gospel and knows of its worth and truth is willing to give up everything and make sacrifices in order to have it in their life.

The gospel is a wonderful thing and we need to make sure we are strengthening our testimonies and sharing the joy that we find in the gospel. The net represented missionaries in the world which in truth can represent anyone that is sharing their testimony whether through word of mouth or simply by the way they live their life. We should stay strong in the gospel and help people learn of Christ and what he really stands for. We can find joy in the gospel and through Christ. As he teaches us through the scriptures and through the Holy Ghost we can come to understand for the truthfulness of the gospel and what we can do to help others.