JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines Jesus as a storyteller.

According to Matthew 13:3, Jesus told a large crowd “many things in parables….”

Jesus told stories to tell people what the kingdom of God was like. He used ordinary things in His stories that would have been familiar to the people in His time. Through the use of parables, we have heard about the heart of compassion of the Good Samaritan, and learned about repentance through the Prodigal Son.

The Gospel is a love story about God taking extraordinary measures to win back the loyalty of those who had wandered away from Him. When we unite with Christ, our story is woven into His story for the glory of His name for all eternity.

The story of God’s grace is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com