I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. – John 15:5
“My momma always said, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” Chatting on a bench at a bus stop, Tom Hanks’ naïve character offered up this wise analogy in the movie Forrest Gump. Perhaps this analogy is even more profound than it seems at first. After all, sure, we have all been pleasantly surprised at moments – just when we think that something will turn out a certain way, we bite down further, and there is a sweet cherry center, even better than the rich chocolate exterior had indicated. I moved to Indianola to preach the Gospel; I was welcomed by wonderful people – even warmer than I could have imagined. The next time, hoping for the same, we grab a similar piece, bite down, and encounter delightful creamy caramel – different than what we had expected, but delightful in a new, unique way.
Still, Forrest Gump’s analogy can take us further: the box of Whitman Sampler chocolates features a printed legend, purporting to tell us which chocolate is which. Yet, even when we used this allegedly helpful guide, we end up enjoying a different treat than we had aimed for. My sister and I would go back over the box top again and again, trying to select the treat that we had enjoyed previously. Truly, life reflects this analogy: You never know what you are going to get.
Analogies like Forrest Gump’s can speak volumes. Some analogies, like his are poetic, helpfully simplifying a perspective to make ideas clear to others. When Jesus said that He was the vine and we are the branches, He gave us a helpful picture of how we are completely dependent upon Him for growth. This analogy reminds us that a sermon that tells us that helping people is important so that we should “go do good” is worthless unless we are depending upon God’s grace. Unless the Holy Spirit transforms our cold, dead hearts, we cannot love. Unless we abide in Jesus, we cannot love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus’ profound analogy makes this truth clear.
Other analogies are treacherous. They start off sounding so poetic and profound but end up representing unbiblical falsehood. I read a clever analogy this morning. “What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.” – Joseph Addison
Sounds great, right? Michaelangelo quarried huge blocks of marble and shipped them to his studio. Through careful sculpting – chipping away parts of the stone that didn’t fit, and shaping the parts he liked – he transformed a lifeless block into a beautiful work of art. This analogy claims that education, like sculpture, does this to the soul. Education chips away at our ignorance and shapes our thoughts into understanding, resulting in a well-crafted soul. This is heresy. Addison’s analogy is invalid because it is not education that transforms souls. Just as physical exercise tones and strengthens the body, lessons and teaching work on the intellect – the mind. The soul, however, is spiritual and can only be transformed by the Holy Spirit.
Yes, God uses His Word to condemn us of our sin. However, a proud soul will not be transformed by this truth. Instead, it will double-down and insist that it is not really that sinful at all, and anyway, the person I hurt needed to be put in his place. And yes, God uses His Word to show us who His Son is. But, a soul that is calloused from pain will deny that it needs Jesus as Lord and Savior. Education, including Sunday School, and Vacation Bible School, and weekly sermons from godly people will not educate a soul without the gracious indwelling of God’s Spirit in the heart of the listener. Education simply cannot do this on its own – pretending that it can is heresy. More practically, pretending that it DOES will frustrate everyone involved.
The sculpture analogy is treacherous: so readily accepted and misunderstood as to drive people to expecting too much of education. What is the corrective? How can we make use of such an analogy? It is missing the artist Himself. Education is like sculpture when a master artist takes the soul in His hands, He produces a well-crafted soul. Is education important to the soul? Yes, when God is the sculptor!
Here is another treacherous analogy: “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.” Sure, but church is God’s studio. That is where He brings roughcut blocks of stone to chip away pride and shape them into the likeness of His Son. And beautifully, as He shapes, you never know what you are going to get, but it will be delightful!
