Category: Parable

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Parable

The “Good News” in a Modern Parable!

There is no better way to explain what Christianity is all about, than to use this modern parable.

 Two Chinese Brothers in the USA

In the early 1900s, two Chinese brothers emigrated to the USA. The younger one soon became a member of a feared street gang.

One night, during a fight, the Chinese drew a knife and killed his opponent!

Pursued by the police, he was seen entering the building in which his brother lived.

His brother saw him indeed rush into his apartment with bloodstained clothes and with a knife in his hand:

The murderer pleaded: “Help me, save me, the police is after me…”

It did not take long for his older brother to understand what had happened, and seeing him in despair he had an idea! He told him:

“Get undressed, and exchange clothes with me.”

They did so, and when the police finally broke down the door, they found the older, innocent Chinese brother with the knife in his hand and wearing the bloodstained clothes. They arrested him!

During the trial that followed, the innocent brother did not open his mouth in his defense and was sentenced to death.

The day before his execution, he wrote the following letter to his kid brother:

“My brother, whom I love very much,

When you will receive this letter, I would be dead, executed for the murder that you have committed in the clothes that I now wear.

The only way there was for me to save you was for me to take your place, and I am doing this gladly because you are my brother and I love you.

But me dying for you would be worthless, even wrong, if you were to go on living the evil life that you have been living until now.

Now, you are wearing my clothes! I demand that you live in them the way I myself would have lived in them.

If you do not do so, you will be guilty of causing my death as well as that of the man you knifed…”  

Honour the sacrifice I made for you!    

    

Dear reader,

This parable sums up what the gospel is:

In this parable, you are the younger brother, and Jesus is the older.

Just like with everyone else, your sins are being accumulated, and you will have to bear, on Judgment Day, the just and awful punishment of having to live eternally outside God’s Kingdom, in hell!

Jesus does not want this to happen to you, so, he offered to take upon himself the ultimate punishment that your sins deserve. (Much like the older Chinese did in our parable!)

Even though Jesus is the Only, much beloved Son of God, the Ruler of the Universe, he left his glorious throne in heaven and came down to earth.

He accepted to wear for a time a lower body, that of a man, and lived among us the only sinless life that no one else managed to live while here on earth.

Being sinless, he did not have to suffer and die like we all do! Suffering and death are a consequence of sin!

Being our Creator and having lived without sinning he was able to stand trial for us, offering to suffer and die for our sins, your personal sins included.

By doing this, Jesus satisfied God’s demand that Justice prevails, and that sin be severely punished with death.

By suffering and dying in our stead, Jesus made it possible for God the Father to be simultaneously « Just » and « Merciful », able to forgive our sins on Judgment Day without anyone being able to accuse him that he is unjust, favouring indiscriminately those he wants.

Now God the Father can forgive all those who are “covered by the blood of Jesus”, that is, those who belong to him.

They must certainly be punished, up to a point, for their sins  in Hades, (that is: the World of the Dead), but they are exempted from being thrown in Hell for eternity…

What a wonderful salvation Jesus is offering us..

What a love Jesus showed us!

And how grateful we should all be…

How could we ever hope to escape God’s wrath if we refuse to respond appropriately to his splendid action of sending his beloved Son to the slaughter for us!

When confronted with the amazing love and sacrifice Jesus demonstrated to us we should all be extremely appreciative and eternally grateful!

Is there any greater insult that we can make to God’s face, any greater sin done against him, than taking lightly this matter, and not responding with gratitude, with love and eternal submission to his Son for his self-sacrifice?

Not appreciating what God’s Son did for us, not loving him wholeheartedly and not submitting unreservedly to him is unforgivable!

All other sins can be ultimately forgiven.

But, refusing to respond to the unbelievable sacrifice that Jesus did for us, refusing to become a staunch and faithful follower of his, will never be forgiven…!

If you do not wish to be charged for your sins and for bringing about the death of the Saviour, you ought to change the “clothes of your heart that are stained with sin” with Jesus’ clothes, and live from now on as he would have lived in them…” (Or…sincerely try hard to do so).

What God requires of you is written in the New Testament. It is God’s written Word!  Read it every day of your life and do what it teaches.

What must you do?

Pray and beg the Lord Jesus to enter in your life and heart and start changing you from within.

Cooperate with him and change what needs to be changed in your life.

Read the Bible every day of your life and let it change your way of thinking and your lifestyle.

Prove your love for God and for your neighbor with your deeds.

An important detail:

Let us imagine for a moment that the police had not caught the Chinese murderer that evening, and that, having escaped punishment he was caught with remorse for the evil that he did and changed completely his way of living…

He became the best person he could be, doing good to many.

When, many years later, the police would finally catch him and bring him to justice, would he be exonerated for the murder that he had committed? Of course not!

Regardless of all the good that he had done until then, all his righteousness, he must still bear the guilt and punishment for his action. Justice must be done: He murdered someone, and must pay for his crime.

Likewise, if (without accepting to “change clothes with Jesus”) you were to start living from now on an exemplary life, doing as much good as you can, (hoping to make up for your sins), you will not be acquitted for that much of the guilt that your sins weigh on you!

Becoming a good person is good, but not good enough to save you from the consequences of your evil actions.

You must exchange the clothes of your heart that are stained by your sins with the spotless clothes of Jesus and live accordingly… Then, and then only will God “pass over” your sins and forgive you.

In any case, the greatest and utterly unforgivable sin  that you make, is to fail to respond as you should to the sacrifice that Jesus made in order save you from eternal suffering.

You must submit your spirit, heart and life to him. Learn to love him.

Only if you become a staunch follower of Christ will you be saved! You must be “born” into God’s family. Once that happens, start reading the words of Jesus, daily.

Whatever God wants you to know, to believe and put into practice is written in the New Testament. Study it daily until you die. Jesus did say:

“Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that has come out of the mouth of God”.          (Matthew 4: 4)

Just as you must find time to eat your physical food daily, so you must you make time to feed yourself daily with the Words of God (I would say at least half an hour every day). Otherwise, your spirit will become atrophic, weak, and will be easily polluted again with sin and with false teachings that prevail in this world.

Do not read any books on theology: They are man’s words; they can be mistaken, and often are, and you will end up being brainwashed and poisoned by them.

Do not trust the salvation of your soul to churches either…

Learn only from the very Words of God that Jesus taught and that were written down by his chosen apostles, 2.000 years ago.

By doing so you will be taught the Truth, only the Truth, and all the Truth that God wants you to know and follow.

Change radically the way you think and live!

Constantin Economides                  

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Parable

The English Lord and his servant

One fine morning, a wealthy landowner—a lord in England—mounted his horse, took his shotgun, called one of his servants, and went out hunting.

In high spirits, he began teasing his servant:

“Tell me,” he said, “do you believe in God?”

“Yes, sir,” the servant replied, “I firmly believe in him, and I submit to His Word as it is written in the Bible!”

“Ah… very well,” said the lord. “Will you then explain something to me?

I, for one, have no regard for God whatsoever! I do not take him into account in my daily life and decisions, and my sins—as you call them—are many and constant.

Yet I am healthy, rich, and happy…

But you—you who believes and tries to live by the words of Jesus—you are poor, often sick, full of troubles and miserable!

How do you explain this? If the God you believe in truly exists, shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t you be rich, healthy, and happy—and I poor and miserable?”

What could the poor servant say? Even to him, the lord’s words seemed reasonable. So he remained silent.

But the lord pressed him, mockingly: “Well then… What do you have to say?”

The servant prayed silently within himself, asking God for wisdom and the right words to be spoken…

At that moment, the lord raised his shotgun and began firing at a flock of partridges in the nearby woods. He was a good shot, and he brought down many.

He sent his servant to gather them and, from a distance, he called out to him:

“Hey, you!  Listen: pick up the wounded ones first, before they escape. Leave the dead ones last!—They are not going anywhere.”

So the servant did as he was told. He gathered them all, placed them in a sack, and they began the journey back. Halfway along the road, the servant finally spoke:

“Sir, may I answer now the question you asked me earlier?”

“Ah, Yes,” said the lord. “Let’s hear it.”

“Well,” said the servant, “I believe that God sends his servants—his angels—to awaken people, to help them truly believe in Jesus Christ and start living as he instructs them so that,one day, they may be allowed to enter his Kingdom. And it seems to me that God sends them… much like you sent me just now to gather the partridges:

He calls out to them from up high:

“Hey you, go first to those people whose hearts are still soft and tender—those who have not completely given themselves over to a self-centered lifestyle and are too busy trying to get rich and important while enjoying unreservedly worldly and sensual, pleasures…

Yes, go to those whose consciences is not dead yet, who may still repent, change, and be saved. Look for hearts that are humble and sincere—souls that thirst for whatever is just, good, true and praiseworthy. Do what you can to shake these men and women, to awaken them and bring them to their senses by whatever means: Hardships,  illnesses,  poverty, disappointments and sorrows and the like, so that they may begin to pay attention to my words and be saved.

As for the others—those who have become hardened and blinded by this world’s ways, and are happy living in sin and evil—leave them alone. They will not repent, they will not give time or thought to worry about their eternal destiny…’”

                                     Dear Reader,

God is looking for people who want to become better persons, who hate what they have become, but thirst for what is holy, good, praiseworthy and eternal.

And he pursues them by means of sorrows, failures, disappointments and difficulties, so as to cause them to seek their Creator who can change them from inside out and make out of them the kind of people that he, -and they themselves-  want to become!

Are you one of them?

Or do you belong to the other group—the ones that God leaves undisturbed:

The worldly and busy ones, those who have given themselves over to the pursuit of success and pleasure, and whose aim is to enjoy their earthly life to the full without giving a thought to the hurt and wrong that they may cause to others!

Know for sure that these individuals will one day face the consequences of their hardness of heart and action. Jesus said:

“The road that leads to destruction is wide, and many walk upon it… But the entrance gate that leads to eternal life is narrow, and the way to there is filled with sorrows. Few are those who will follow it till the end!”  (Matthew 7:13–14)

From these words we understand that the great majority of people are heading toward their eternal destruction—toward hell. Do not think that you are safe simply because you are among the “many”: Their end will be dreadful.

Rather chose to be among the “few” that seek to do what is right in God’s eyes, that «deny themselves, bear daily the cross that God has placed on their path, and submit to Jesus Christ.»  (Luke 9: 23)

Their end will be wonderful, blessed and eternal!

                                                                                               Constantin Economides                                         

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Parable

All Things Work out for Good

All things Work out for Good…

In the nineteenth century there lived a God fearing man in a village.

He was a baker, and needed to travel to the nearest town where he could buy a few sacks of flour and sugar.

He knew that the road was dangerous since there had been a number of attacks on it lately…

So, he prayed asking protection from God and went on his way.

All went well and a few hours later he arrived in the town, bought two sacks of flour and two sacks of sugar, loaded them on his donkey and started his journey back to his village. After praying again for protection, of course, as always.

Now he was concerned with something else: the sky was getting heavy with clouds, and he was worried that it might rain! Where will he find shelter in the forest?!

He shared his fears with the Lord, left them at his feet, so to speak, and picked up the pace.

The clouds, however, were getting rapidly heavier and heavier, and very alarmed now, he reminded the Lord that if it rained, the flour and sugar would be ruined, and so would he!

How would his family survive such a disaster?

Surely, he told himself, God was just testing him, testing his faith. He would not allow such a calamity…After all, it is an easy thing for God to withhold the rain until he arrives home!

So, accelerating his pace, he started singing praises to God. But soon after, the drops started to fall. And it rained cats and dogs that day…

When the sky had cleared up so had the contains of his sacks…

Distressed and angry,  bitter against his Maker he threw the empty sacks away, climbed on his donkey and continued his journey.

Not for long though: He stopped to investigate what was this clicketing noise he could hear from the bushes. And what did he see?:

There stood the most dangerous bandit in the country! He was pointing his gun towards him and pulling repeatedly the trigger… The gun however was not firing, since the hammer of his archaic rifle could not set alight the gunpowder that was now damp, after all this rain!

The baker quickly pricked his donkey and hurried away from danger.

It was only when he went to bed that night that he realized that… if it hadn’t rained he would be dead by now, and his sacks stolen!

By means of the storm, Go had saved his life

And the following bible verse came to his mind:

“Everything works out for good for those who love God!” (Romans 8: 28)

 

Dear reader,

When you are going through difficult, distressing and unhappy times, keep in mind that God is more concerned with the salvation and well-being  of your soul  than with your present happiness.

He wants most of all to change you, to save you from going to hell and to make you more in the image of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

Co-operate with him!

 

          Constantin Economides

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Parable

The Hidden Treasure

  A number of years after the Second World War ended, a soldier was finally released from a prison camp in the Soviet Union and returned to his country, to his family.
He told his family that as the Russian army was arriving he saw some soldiers burying secretly cases filled with Golden articles in a field. They had hardly finished covering the spot when the Russians appeared and killed them all. He was the only one alive to have seen what happened, but was taken as a prisoner.
The problem was that there was now a big beautiful mansion that was built on that field! The family could do nothing about it, except keeping the secret to themselves.
Years later, that man’s grandson started a business that flourished and wanted to buy that house. The owners of the mansion only agreed to sell it at an exorbitant price which he could not possibly afford.
He spoke to his brothers, asking them to put in whatever money they had and share the treasure with him, but they would not!
He worked a few more years, saved all he could, sold his own house,  heavily borrowed from the bank and from some friends, and bought the beautiful mansion!
No sooner had he done so, that he rented a bulldozer and, working alone, he started breaking down the mansion
All the villagers watched in disbelief! Was he mad?
His own family turned against him, tried to stop him, but he kept on digging under the house until… he struck gold!
That is what it means to believe, to really believe. One must act upon what he believes in, or else he will never get to the treasure.
His brothers heard the grandfather’s secret just like he did. They kind of believed him, but did nothing about it. Such a faith got them nowhere…
What about your belief in Jesus’s Words? Is it real? Does it cost you? Have you given up all that should be given up in order to receive God’s Grace and eternal life?
Or have you just gone halfway: You bought the beautiful mansion when you could afford it, but stopped short of demolishing it and digging beneath it?
Will such a faith ever lead you to the treasured eternal life?
“The Kingdom of heaven can be likened to a treasure hidden in a field. When a man digs, searches for it  and finds it, he hides it again and sells everything that he possesses in order to buy that field!”  (Matthew 13: 44)
Mean business with Christ and you will receive from him what you value above all: Forgiveness and Eternal happiness.

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Parable

Ο Λόρδος και ο Υπηρέτης

Ο λόρδος και ο υπηρέτης
Ένας μεγαλοκτηματίας, Λόρδος της Αγγλίας, καβάλησε ένα πρωί το άλογο του, πήρε το δίκανο του, φώναξε και έναν υπηρέτη και πήγε… για κυνήγι.
Καλό κεφάτος, άρχισε να πειράζει τον υπηρέτη του: “Δεν μου λες” του είπε, “ πιστεύεις εσύ στον Θεό;”
“Μάλιστα κύριε”, απάντησε ο υπηρέτης, “πιστεύω ατράνταχτα στον Ιησού Χριστό”.
“ Α… ωραία” του λέει ο λόρδος “Θέλω να μου εξηγήσεις ένα πράγμα”:
Εγώ, τον θεό τον γράφω στα παλιά μου τα παπούτσια. Δεν τον υπολογίζω καθόλου. Και οι αμαρτίες μου, (όπως τις ονομάζεις εσύ), είναι πολλές και καθημερινές. Παρόλα αυτά είμαι υγιής, πλούσιος και ευτυχής, ενώ εσύ που τον πιστεύεις και τον ακολουθείς, είσαι κακόμοιρος, φτωχός και δυστυχής.
Πως το εξηγείς αυτό;
Εάν ο Θεός που πιστεύεις πράγματι υπάρχει, δεν θα έπρεπε εσύ να ήσουν πλούσιος, υγιής και ευτυχής και εγώ φτωχός και δυστυχής;
Έτσι δεν είναι; Για απάντησε μου…”
 
Τι να πει ο κακόμοιρος ο υπηρέτης! Σωστά του φαινόταν και εκείνου τα λόγια του λόρδου!
Δεν απάντησε.
Ο λόρδος όμως τον πίεζε ειρωνεύτηκα: “Για λέγε λοιπόν, πως εξηγείς αυτές τις παραδοξείες”;
Ο υπηρέτης έκανε από μέσα του μια προσευχή ζητώντας από τον Θεό λόγια για να του απαντήσει.
Εκείνη τη στιγμή σηκώνει ο λόρδος το δίκανο του και αρχίζει να βαράει προς ένα κοπάδι από πέρδικες που είδε. Ήταν καλός σκοπευτής και χτύπησε πολλές…
 Στέλνει λοιπόν τον υπηρέτη του για να τις μαζέψει. Και από μακριά του φωνάζει:
“Ε, ρε συ! Πιάσε πρώτα τις πληγωμένες πέρδικες μη μας ξεφύγουν. Τις νεκρές μάζεψε της στο τέλος. Αυτές δεν πάνε πουθενά”.
Έτσι και έκανε ο υπηρέτης. Τις μάζεψε όλες, της έβαλε μέσα σε ένα σάκο, και πήραν τον δρόμο για το γυρισμό.
Στα μέση του δρόμου μίλησε τελικά ο υπηρέτης:
“Κύριε να σας απαντήσω στην ερώτηση που μου κάνατε προ λίγο;”
“Α…ναι”, λέει ο λόρδος “Για να ακούσω”!
“Να” λέει ο υπηρέτης “πιστεύω πως ο Θεός στέλνει τους υπηρέτες του, τους αγγέλους, για να αφυπνίσουν τους ανθρώπους και να τους φέρουν στο βασίλειό  του.
Στέλνει λοιπόν ο Θεός τους αγγέλους του λίγο-πολύ, όπως με στείλατε κι εσείς προ λίγο, για να μαζέψω τις πέρδικες.
Και τους φωνάζει από ψηλά:
“ Ε, εσείς, πηγαίνετε πρώτα να μαζέψετε τους ανθρώπους πού έχουν ακόμα κάποια ελπίδα να σωθούν, να μετανοήσουν και να αλλάξουν. Ψάξτε για καρδιές που είναι διψασμένες, ειλικρινές και ταπεινές ώστε να δεχτούν την Αλήθεια.
Αυτούς να αφυπνίσετε! Συνεφέρετε τους με οποιοδήποτε τρόπο κι αν χρειαστεί.: Παίδεψετε τους με κακουχίες, με αρρώστιες, με φτώχεια,  με απογοητεύσεις και θλίψεις…ώστε να σταματήσουν τις ματαιοδοξίες και  πολυ-ασχολίες τους, και δώσουν προσοχή στα Λόγια μου…
Τους άλλους, αυτούς που οι καρδιές τους αρέσκονται στο κακό και στην αμαρτία, αυτούς που έχουν πωρωθεί και τυφλωθεί από τα εγκόσμια, μην χάνετε την ώρα σας με αυτούς. Αφήστε τους ήσυχους. Αυτοί, δεν πρόκειται να αφιερώσουν χρόνο και σκέψη για τα αιώνια, δεν μετανοούν! Αυτοί, δυστυχώς δεν θα αποφύγουν το απαίσιο τέλος που τους περιμένει…”
Φίλε αναγνώστη.
Σε ποια κατηγορία ανθρώπων ανήκεις; Στους διψασμένους και ταπεινούς που πλάθεται ακόμα η καρδιά τους ή στους κοσμικούς, αυτούς που έχουν πουληθεί στο κακό,στην ηδονή και στα λεφτά;
Ψάξε να μάθεις το γιατί ζεις, πώς πρέπει να ζεις, τι είναι σημαντικό και τι δεν είναι επιθυμητό στην ζωή σου…
Μην περιμένεις να φτάσεις στο τέλος της ζωής σου ή του εαυτού σου για να αρχίσεις  να επιζητάς τα Αιώνια, το Θεό! Μάλλον τότε θα είναι αργά, θα έχει αποσκλυρανθεί η καρδιά σου, και δεν θα μπορείς να αλλάξεις !
Πάρε την απόφαση να ακολουθείσεις τον Ιησού Χριστό τώρα, σήμερα.
Ο Ιησούς Χριστός είπε:
“ Ο δρόμος που οδηγεί προς την απώλεια είναι φαρδύς και πολλοί είναι εκείνοι που κατευθύνονται προς τα εκεί.”
Η πύλη όμως που οδηγεί προς την αιώνια ζωή είναι στενή, και ο δρόμος που την ακολουθεί είναι γεμάτος θλίψεις και λίγοι είναι εκείνοι που θα μπούν στην Βασιλεία του Θεού…  (Ματθαίος 7: 13,14)
 
Σύμφωνα με τον Χριστό λοιπόν η μεγάλη πλειονότητα των ανθρώπων κατευθύνονται προς την απώλεια, την κόλαση.
Μην αισθάνεσαι ασφαλής έπειδή βρίσκεσαι μέσα στο πλήθος…
 Όσο είναι καιρός, ταπείνωσε την καρδιά σου και μετανόησε, άλλαξε τον τρόπο που σκέφτεσαι και τον τρόπο που ζεις. Επιδίωξε να κάνεις ότι είναι καλό και αρεστό στον Θεό.
Τα όσα θέλει ο Θεός να ξέρεις και να κάνεις θα τα βρεις γραμμένα μέσα στην Καινή Διαθήκη. Εκεί μόνο θα βρεις την καθαρή Αλήθεια του ευαγγελίου.
Οι εκκλησίες και τα δόγματα συχνά την παρερμηνεύουν και την δηλητηριάζουν! Μην εμπιστευεσαι την ψυχή σου σε αυτούς.
Διάβαζε κάθε μέρα της ζωής σου τα Λόγια του Χριστού όπως οι απόστολοί  μας τα μετέδωσαν μέσα στην Καινή Διαθήκη, και βάλε τα σε εφαρμογή στην ζωή σου.
Και θα ζήσεις…
Όσο για τον υπηρέτη, απολύθηκε, ο κακόμοιρος,  γιατί είπε την αλήθεια!
Και εσύ, θα διωχτείς… να το ξέρεις.
Κωνσταντίνος Οικονομίδης
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