facts vs propositions

We children of the internet and the weather channel, we think we are the enlightened ones. We aren't fooled by anything - we just want the facts. Bottom line.

'A sower went out to sow some seed..A man fell into the hands of robbers..' Think of it. You are the Son of the living God. You have come to earth to rescue the human race. It is your job to communicate truths without which your precious will be lost..forever. Would you do it like this? A treasure hidden in the field? A lump of dough? Ten virgins and something about oil? Why doesn't he come right out and say it - and just get to the point? What's with all the stories? Some of them rather puzzling.

Jesus is not entertaining children; he is speaking to adults about the deepest things in life...Facts stay lodged in our minds. They don't speak at the level we need to hear. Propositions speaks to the mind, but when you tell a story, you speak to the heart.

That's why when Jesus comes to town, he speaks in a way that will get past all our intellectual defences and disarm our hearts.

-John Eldridge Waking the Dead-