An Empty House

It's been a busy summer for us.  For 8 weeks in a row, we had visitors in our house.  Starting June 1st, my youngest brother, David, was here doing a project for Al Raja.

Uncle David looking cool with Eva. 

Exploring Bahrain

One of the great things about visitors is that it gives me an excuse to see things in Bahrain that I wouldn't normally do.  And since David has arrived, we've managed to get out and about.  I made a Google map of all the things that would be interesting to do (the yellow ones are places that I have actually visited).  I made it because 1) I like maps 2) I love Google and 3) I could better get a sense of what we should do with David here.

View Places to Visit in Bahrain in a larger map

Parables - The Kingdom of Heaven

Jesus told stories - parables.  What if he had come to Bahrain today?  What kind of stories would he tell?  If you want to know more about this project, then go here for a more thorough introduction.  

This week: The Kingdom of Heaven Parables from Matthew 13:24-33, 44-50.  Read them here in English. Read them here in Arabic. 

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Context:  In the previous passages, Jesus has been debating with the Jewish religious leaders.  Despite Jesus’ knowledge, wisdom and miraculous works, the leaders question how well he is following God’s law, accuse him of casting out demons in the name of Satan (which doesn’t make sense anyways) and then demand he show them a sign to prove he is from God!   Jesus is now speaking to the crowd around him, and here are six parables he tells to talk about the kingdom of heaven.   

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Jesus continued, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a CEO who hired many men for his company.  However, once everyone started working, they found that some were working against the company.  The employees went to his CEO and said, “These men are worthless and some are even stealing from the company!  But if we remove them now, the burden will be to heavy on those who are working diligently. “  The CEO said, “our competitor has put them in our company to ruin us.” So the employees said, “What do you want us to do?  Fire them?”  But the CEO said, “No – don’t fire them.  That will cause too much of a burden on those who are left.  Let them all work together till the end of the project.  Then gather the worthless workers and fire them without pay.  But reward those who worked diligently for us.”

He told them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who plants a [weed tree] inside his house with his houseplants.  His wife wonders why he has done this, but soon the tree gives shade in the garden during the hottest part of the day.”

He continued with another, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like the incense that a woman places before guests come to her house.  She hides the burner in a corner, but very soon the incense fills the entire house.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a dirt lot next to a villa, which a man found and then covered up.  He was so happy that he sold everything he had and bought the whole compound.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one priceless pearl, went and sold all that he had and bought that one pearl.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.  When it was full, the men pulled the net onto the dhow, and sorted the good fish from the bad fish.  This is how it will be at the end of time.  The angels will come out and separate the evil from the good and throw the evil into a fiery furnace.  In that furnace there will be great sorrow and suffering."

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What do we learn: In this case, specifically about the kingdom of heaven?

• There are some who are chosen, and some who are not.  God will sort it in the end.
• The kingdom of heaven [God] may seem worthless, but it provides refuge for those who trust it.
• The kingdom of heaven starts small, but it will affect everything around it.
• The kingdom of heaven is of GREATEST value - more than anything we could ever have. 
• The kingdom of heaven [God] will give up everything it has when it finds the people it [He] wants.
• At the end, everyone will be gathered, but not everyone will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 

What do you think?  How do you imagine Jesus would have told these parables if he had come to Bahrain? 

Parables in Bahrain

What if Jesus came to Bahrain?  One of Jesus’ ways to teach was to tell stories, or parables.   If He came to Bahrain during the summer of 2010, what would he say?  What illustrations would he use?  I can’t say for sure, of course, but I thought it would be an interesting exercise to imagine what parables Jesus would tell if He came here.  What would he say to those living in Tubli (where I live), or to those in Muhharaq?  Or to those in Riffaa or in Sanabis?   

Jesus was a master story teller.  In the four gospels (my Bahraini friends will know it as الإنجيل ), there are over 30 parables, mostly concentrated in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.  These parables used imagery that the people he was speaking to would have immediately connected with.   True, the parables have a universal appeal, but there's something to being told a story with images, characters and situations that I am familiar with already. 

Tomorrow I'll re-tell the six parables Jesus tells about the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 13:24-33, 44-50.  Click here to read the passage.  Click here to read it in Arabic.

Comments welcome. 

Videos from Grandpa

My dad has an iPad - that Eva loves - and he has taken some video.  Enjoy!

Eva took a cloth and started wrapping up one of her stuffed animals the same way that Alison wraps up Gabe.  Very cute.



Here Eva wanted to hold Gabe, or so I thought.