Stories that didn’t happen, or in another word, parables, are still with us today. How many times have you heard a supposedly true story so wonderful and meaningful that you feel disappointed when you learn the story turns out to be fiction? You may feel badly about being misled but does that really matter when the story conveys a Truth? We have an entire entertainment industry that is built around stories that did not actually happen, but nevertheless have lessons to teach us and Truths to convey.
Jesus taught with parables. It does not matter if the stories actually happened or not. What matters is the Truth conveyed by the stories. Was there really a merchant who divided his wealth among servants before going on a long trip? Was there really a vineyard owner who sent workers into his field with only an hour of daylight left? Was there really a son so ungrateful and insensitive that he wasted a good portion of the family wealth on drink and debauchery? Perhaps, perhaps not, but really, does it matter?
The following is such a story. It is usually told connected to the name of a concert pianist who was extremely famous a hundred years ago but will be unrecognizable to most people living today. So think of it as a modern parable.
There was once a young mother who had a young son. The boy, like many boys of his age at the time, was given piano lessons as part of his education. Although he dutifully learned his lessons, his mother wanted him to be inspired, so she managed to secure tickets to a concert being given by a world famous pianist.
On the night of the concert the mother, with her son in tow, found their seats and then was surprised to find she was seated next to an acquaintance. In the moment she took to say hello to her friend, her son slipped away. She began to search frantically and then heard a familiar tune being plucked out on a piano. She looked up and saw that her son had managed to climb up on stage and was seated at the grand piano pecking out Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on the keyboard.
The crowd began to murmur and chuckle, the mother was mortified, but before she could retrieve her son the Maestro appeared from the side of the stage. He walked quietly over to the boy, bent over and whispered “Keep playing” in his ear. The great pianist then reached out with one hand and started filling in a bass part. With his other hand he reached around and started playing a running obbligato. Together the master and the young boy played a song that mesmerized the entire audience. They may not have remembered all the music that was played that night, but they never forgot that rendition of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.
God surrounds us with His arms, takes our meager gifts, and creates something wonderful with them. But first we have to bring them to Him.