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So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you."
—Acts 17:22-23
I love a good analogy.
When I am trying to explain a principle or idea that is unfamiliar to my listener or reader, I often try to use an analogy, comparing the unfamiliar thing to a familiar one that has similar features.
I think that I do a decent job of coming up with analogies, but my wife probably would disagree. (My kids roll their eyes when I use analogies but, then again, they roll their eyes a lot around me. And those eyes are going to get stuck that way someday. Just you wait.)
My wife and I were visiting my son's church a few months ago when the pastor used an analogy in his sermon. That sermon was the first in a series on the book of 2 Corinthians, which, conveniently enough, followed a sermon series on 1 Corinthians.
Rather than spending a lot of time recapping the situation at the church in Corinth at the time Paul wrote the two letters, the pastor reminded everyone of an analogy that he had used during the first series.
"What was the church at Corinth like?" he asked the congregation. After a brief pause, he answered his own question. "That's right. It was a dumpster fire."
On the screen appeared a picture of a dumpster that was on fire and rapidly floating down a river.
"That's perfect!" I thought to myself. I now had an easy way to remember what the church in Corinth was like. I filed it away in my mind for easy retrieval later.
The first "later" was a few weeks later. I was talking to my wife about how much I enjoyed the worship service and sermon at my son's church, and I mentioned that the pastor had used a terrific analogy at the beginning of the sermon.
"What analogy?" she responded.
"He said that the church in Corinth was a dumpster fire," I responded.
"What does that mean?" she asked. I gave her a quizzical look, so she continued. "What does a fire have to do with anything?"
After my halting attempt to explain the analogy, she said, "Oh, OK. I get it now. The church was a hot mess."
An analogy that resonated with me fell flat with her.
The experience with my wife gave me a new appreciation for how good Jesus was at using analogies, parables, and other types of comparisons to explain challenging theological and spiritual concepts in ways that people could understand . . . 2,000 years ago, and today.
And Paul was no slouch, either.
A man who had spent his formative years as a devout Jew and risen to the position of Pharisee became a Christian evangelist to people who were very different than he. They were Gentiles who knew little about the religion, culture, or history of the Jews and cared even less than they knew. Paul had to find a way not only to explain Jesus to these people but also to persuade them to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
So Paul worked tirelessly to find reference points that were familiar to his audience and then build his argument around these reference points. He became a master at analogies. When one analogy didn't work, he thought of another.
His efforts changed the world, one dumpster fire – or hot mess – at a time.
 | Chris Bolinger is the author of three men’s devotionals – 52 Weeks of Strength for Men, Daily Strength for Men, and Fuerzas para Cada Día para el Hombre – and the co-host of the Throwing Mountains podcast. He splits his time between northeast Ohio and southwest Florida. Against the advice of medical professionals, he remains a die-hard fan of Cleveland pro sports teams. Find him at mensdevotionals.com. Learn More » |
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