parable – Johann Quisumbing

Introduction -The Life Preserver Lesson

Once upon a time, I was once a drowning man. I was floundering in a sea that I had no hope of keeping a float indefinitely. I was in real danger. Then, someone threw me a life preserver. Now, that was enough to keep me afloat and ultimately save my life… for eternity.

Of course, I was speaking metaphorically just like the parables told by Jesus Christ. His parables were always relatable to his audience and had in-depth life changing lessons. His words after were always, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” [Mark 4:9 NLT] In essence, the parables, when so desired, can be pondered by those (even) with no scholarly achievements.

So, in my parable, I just wanted to emphasize that in the past, my life was a real mess. Oh sure, on the outside, I presented myself as a ‘happy-go-lucky’ handicap. But it was mostly an act. Don’t get me wrong. I was enjoying life and at the same time I was like ‘going nowhere’. Well, originally, I was heading in one direction but I didn’t realize, at that time, was heading to eternal damnation. Then someone threw me a life preserver.

It was around 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait which triggered a coalation of several nations who banded together to kick him out. Of course, my wife and I were anxiously watching all this with the only source of TV news we can get in english. (We were living in Manila.) In those days, there were no CNN, cable TV and no internet yet. Anyway, it was when the news started to report that Saddam will use nuclear weapons triggering WW3, I started to think of my own mortality . I remembered asking, if I died that day and I stood before God, will He let me in? It was then I realized that I deserved not to be let in. Like the drowning man, I was very afraid. You see, as a Roman Catholic, it was drummed into us that if Heaven was denied, HELL had to be the only other place I could go and in my heart, I knew I deserved it. I cried out in prayer. It was then a life preserver was cast into the sea to keep me afloat. Now, do you know who threw me that life preserver? … and why?

Well, the answer to that is the reason why I’m writing this blog…

Sketching HIStory is my effort to tell the story of God. It is a story that saved my life. It is a story I told many times. It is a story that needs telling and is meant to save us all. Why? Jesus said it best, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” [John 17:3]

Once upon a time, someone threw me a life preserver. That task was passed on to us who believed (Matthew 28:18-20). For myself, that was back in the early 90s. Since I have been incapacitated by my current medical condition, I confess that I have been remiss of the privilege that was given me. But lately people I knew (and also a lot of people I didn’t know) have passed away and I have been convicted with the same question of whether they even knew the Lord the way He wants. The emotion, for me, would be like watching someone drowning and yet I did not throw him a line. I express the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16). Now, I may not be able to preach and teach like in the ol’ days. But I can still tell stories in both my writings and drawings. I pray and hope you would join me as I impart His story and sketch my way through the Bible.

In my next post, I will continue the Introduction with the story of about how God can be really known on The Road to Emmaus told by Jesus himself some 2000 years ago. See you then.

THE PLAN – Roman Fort 2 miles east of Bethsaida
– Sea of Galilee shoreline, Bethsaida

Then the crowd started looking down the shoreline attracted by the sound of celebratory clapping and the high pitch ululating sound that women make with their tongues. They could not make out what was happening from their spot on the beach. So, they moved through the crowd up the bank and worked their way to the building. There they climbed up unto an already crowded platform. From that vantage point, Cornelius could just make out a circle of men surrounding a single man keeping the crowd from overwhelming him. The rabbi was not too tall. His hair was brownish and shoulder length. He sported a short clean cut beard and mustache. His face was a little long and his nose was a little aquiline. At first impression, Cornelius was disappointingly not impressed. He looked ordinary. If the crowd did not cheer for him, he would walk by him paying him no heed.

Then people started to call out to him. There were a mixture of supplications from the crowd. They wanted to be healed. They wanted their lives to be good. Some asked if he was the one. Cornelius could not tell if he could not hear them or he was ignoring them. He continued on smiling, shaking their hands and occasionally picking up a child, laughing with them. The crowd started to press around some more until he could not progress further. The rabbi then worked his way toward one of the beached boats. Next to it was a burly fisherman washing his nets.

The rabbi asked something of him gesturing to his boat. The large fisherman nodded his ascent, put down his nets and walked over to the bow of his boat. As the rabbi climbed aboard alone, the fisherman pushed the boat out onto the water and let it float out about ten feet. Then he tied it off. The rabbi called for the people to quiet down and gestured those in the front to sit down on the beach. Then he sat at the edge of the bow and in a very clear voice, he began to teach. The first thing that Cornelius noticed was the clarity of his words. The boat was ten feet from the shore. His own vantage point was at least another hundred feet with a score of people between them.

“Behold, a sower went out to sow and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” [Luke 8:4-8 NASB]

The crowd was mumbling. It was clear that there was confusion. Cornelius himself was not sure what he meant.

“He is speaking in a parable.” It was Jacob whispering to Cestus. “Oh, I wish I had parchment and pen.”

The rabbi gave two other parables about how the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man finding treasure in a field and a valuable pearl. Cornelius figured he can analyze them with Jacob later since he deemed them unimportant for the moment.

Then the rabbi spoke again. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” [Matthew 13:24-31 NASB]

The mumbling in the crowd became louder. The rabbi stood and called to the burly fisherman. The fisherman waded over and whispered to his ear while gesturing out onto the lake. The fisherman spoke back shaking his head but then he ended up shrugging his shoulder. He called to his fishing partner and together they gathered their nets. They climbed into the boat and they started to row out onto deeper water. They were not too far out when they casted their nets. Cornelius was sure that they will not be successful fishing at midday. But that was not what concerned him.
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The story continues on in my next post a week from now.

If you are interested in reading the entire ebook, you can find my ebook in Amazon.com for only $1.99. Just click the link below.

Thank you

Johann Q

Tag: parable

Sketching HIStory #1

Introduction -The Life Preserver Lesson

THE CENTURION’S GOSPEL – Ch3 – part 5