Some people mentioned to me that it is better to share the gospel in a narrative style. Through stories and illustrations, the content of the gospel becomes animated and is much easier to understand. Even my dad once commented that biblical stories were things of the past and had no relevance to our life now. That statement could be a true reflection on how pre-believers are viewing the Bible text.
The following narrative parable is one of my first few attempts to illustrate the gospel in a more contemporary way. I understand that more works need to be done in order to perfect the narration, but it should suffice for now to prove my earlier point.
Enjoy!
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There was once a great Architect who built a very magnificent world-renowned library. In this grand architectural masterpiece were many librarians who were tasked to manage the various sections of the huge knowledge depository, each according to their abilities and potential. These staffs had been given total autonomy in whatever they do.
Soon after, many librarians began to take things to their own hands. They had completely forgotten about the detailed and careful instructions given during the induction programme. Each one of them started to do things as they please, oblivious of the consequences of their course of actions. It followed naturally that they also began to separate from one another and formed visible boundaries with the selfish ambition to claim territories in this enormous library. As a result, many sections were left sub-optimized, either having too many duplicates or found to be heavily lacking. They were so messed up that they began to hide their face from the Architect.
But one interesting observation was that a collection of architectural books were found available in every single section. Yet, a closer examination informed that many of these books were hand-scribbled and none was from the authentic source. In their power struggles, they seemed to have copied and modified the text from a primary source, which was nowhere to be found in this disillusion state of the library.
Occasionally, some parts of the library would encounter territorial fights, whereby librarians themselves tried to assert their influences on one another so as to gain more territories. They had failed to realize that their employment contract only promised them a fixed amount of salary, regardless of their achievement in this library. In fact, there was even a severe penalty in place if they are unable to fulfill their current job responsibilities. It was no wonder that the air-cons in the library were getting weaker and weaker because of the lack of proper maintenance.
One fine day, the Architect did secretly return to teach one particular librarian on the proper way to managing a library. That librarian then began to gather a group of oppressed librarians, ill-treated by other more influential librarians. With the help of the Architect , they were transferred to a well-situated section in the library so that they can help supervise and manage the prime spot. Since then, they held very dearly to the teachings of the Architect, differentiating themselves to be a special and distinct group of librarians in the library.
The daily routines of all librarians were to try to manage and sort out the different types of books in their assigned sections. Various types of books had to be returned to their proper place in the library. It was no easy task because some shelves were extremely messy and some books were tagged wrongly. Many librarians, therefore, had to rush and ration their limited time. Some chose to organize books in the more critical sections first. Others adopted a more random approach. Yet, there were many who chose to remain idle, simply because of the overwhelming work to be done.
Strangely, whenever they came to a familiar section called 'Architect', they would walk past it without even taking a glance. To them, it seemed to be an obsolete shelf, not worthy of their serious attention. They would rather frequent other popular shelves such as wealth, health, sealth (power and politics) and stealth (detachment from this world).
Days went by, followed by months and years. A deep sense of emptiness began to fill the hearts of many librarians in the library. Many were asking the purpose of their existence in the library. There were stories of great librarians who managed to seize premium sections in the library, but immediately after their dismissal, were quickly handed over to the charge of other librarians. It was utterly meaningless. In all their pursues, nothing was ever gained. There were also folktales of insignificant librarians who only took charge of 1-2 small shelves, yet they were pretty much contented and retired without any regret. What an irony! Many began to ask, "What on earth was the true purpose for this library institution?"
Then came the era where many librarians turned to notice the now dusty shelf of 'Architect'. By comparing writings from the various manuscripts, they came to the understanding of the need to locate the one true source describing the authentic 'Architect'. Through a series of careful research, they began to realize that they had all went astray and departed from the original duties for a librarian in the library.
Just then, the Son of Architect appeared in the prime section and showed the special group of librarians the correct way and mindset to manage the library.
"You do not need to scramble for fast and easy solutions in these piles of books," said the Son of Architect in a gentle tone, "You just need to ask and i will show you how."
Some accepted his advises and followed his ways. Others, they became jealous and began to plot to chase the Son out of their vicinity, or even better, out of the library completely. Their plot eventually succeeded and the Son was mercilessly thrown out of the library. Yet, the words of the Son of Architect remained in the heart and mind of some librarians who wanted to reform the library according to what the Son had taught them. With the help of library automation, which was promised to them by the Son of Architect, this group of obedient librarians were able to do things more efficiently and effectively in the library, often far exceeding what they ever could imagine. They even have the luxury of time to assist other librarians with their tasks, henceforth lessening their burden in the library. Wherever they go, these group of librarians will try to teach the words from the Son of Architect to others and empower them with the proper use of the library automation.
The words from the Son of Architect also taught them that the sole purpose of them being in the library was so that they could become co-heirs of this grand library. It was the Architect's intention all along to groom many co-heirs to this magnificent library that he had built. And it would be these co-heirs who would share in the future glory and honor associated with the library. Those unworthy librarians would be asked to leave the library when their tenant expired.
Librarians, who had heard the words from the Son of Architect and believed, began to see great transformation in their lives. Following the right and proper guidance and advices from the Son of Architect, they were able to restore several sections of the library back to their original state through the help of library automation. The revamped library was now much orderly and vibrant than the previous messy and chaotic states. Such a renewed scene has attracted many others to follow suit. They began to close down the obsolete 'Architect' shelf and engage in an extreme makeover of their respective sections. Slowly, the library was being restored back to its former glorious state, though many works were still left undone.
In one accord, those joyful librarians began to sing, "All credits to the Son of Architect, who was and is and always will be our counselor, model and inspiration in the library."
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I have located the Son of Architect in the library of life. Have you?
