Jesus was asked, "Why do you tell stories?" Jesus said, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everyone has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till their blue in the face and not get it." (Matthew 13, MSG)
A man met with a group of men every week over a six month period. He later told this story to another group of men during the 2nd week of meeting with their group.
"Before I started Turning Point, I was angry and full of rage. I was raised in a violent home; I promised to never repeat that with my kids. In order to control it, I hit on a heavy bag every day. After 6 months of meeting with these guys every week, and just talking, it really helped me. It changed my life. There's maybe 1 - 2 days a month now where I still use the bag. Talking to those guys changed me."
Stories...to create readiness and to nudge others toward receptive insight.
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