As I was pondering allegories, wishing for a new one to read to my class, I had an epiphany. Not a single allegory I could think of allowed the main character to remain in his or her native home. Some are sent on a long journey to a distant land, others are given the care of a castle, or sent off to fight a battle, but none are allowed to remain in environments they are used to.
I believe it is safe to say that for most of us in relatively comfortable situations, change is not something we look forward to. We dread the idea of being uprooted from familiar places and dropped into the midst of some unknown land. Being someone that has moved several times in my life, I feel I can claim at least some level of authority on the matter.
There is, I decided after some thought, a very good reason allegories all follow the same pattern. When we become transformed through the blood of Christ, we aren't allowed to stay in one place. The things that our humanness clings to as familiar are left behind as we move on to a new place.
Our journey, though, does not end there, though we sometimes wish it did! Instead, God has a way of asking us again and again to move on to different places. Some of these moves may be physical- a move to a different congregation, accepting a new job opportunity, or a term in a foreign mission. Others are moves in our hearts that perhaps are not so very obvious to anyone but God. Maybe He's asking us to draw closer and rely on Him when our tendency is to fear. Perhaps He is gently asking us to move beyond a hurt from our past that is holding us back. It may be for someone His request is simply to move a beloved pair of shoes from the closet to the garbage!
There are so many ways in which God requires us to leave the place to which we've become accustomed! It's not easy. We sometimes cry many tears. Some days we may just feel like fighting His gentle, beckoning call. Yet to draw nearer Him, there is only one way, and that is the way of change.
The mere mention of change is enough to make me cringe. Are the changes easy? No. Do they feel disastrous? Sometimes. Will they be worth it? Always. Clinging to His hand, you and I can walk our allegorical paths and know that each step of the journey is one step nearer Him.
I believe it is safe to say that for most of us in relatively comfortable situations, change is not something we look forward to. We dread the idea of being uprooted from familiar places and dropped into the midst of some unknown land. Being someone that has moved several times in my life, I feel I can claim at least some level of authority on the matter.
There is, I decided after some thought, a very good reason allegories all follow the same pattern. When we become transformed through the blood of Christ, we aren't allowed to stay in one place. The things that our humanness clings to as familiar are left behind as we move on to a new place.
Our journey, though, does not end there, though we sometimes wish it did! Instead, God has a way of asking us again and again to move on to different places. Some of these moves may be physical- a move to a different congregation, accepting a new job opportunity, or a term in a foreign mission. Others are moves in our hearts that perhaps are not so very obvious to anyone but God. Maybe He's asking us to draw closer and rely on Him when our tendency is to fear. Perhaps He is gently asking us to move beyond a hurt from our past that is holding us back. It may be for someone His request is simply to move a beloved pair of shoes from the closet to the garbage!
There are so many ways in which God requires us to leave the place to which we've become accustomed! It's not easy. We sometimes cry many tears. Some days we may just feel like fighting His gentle, beckoning call. Yet to draw nearer Him, there is only one way, and that is the way of change.
The mere mention of change is enough to make me cringe. Are the changes easy? No. Do they feel disastrous? Sometimes. Will they be worth it? Always. Clinging to His hand, you and I can walk our allegorical paths and know that each step of the journey is one step nearer Him.
💜
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