Three parables

Comments welcome.


Parable 1.

A mother gave birth to twins, Harold and Howard. She decided that she loved Harold and hated Howard.

To Harold she gave everything that he needed for a happy, healthy, well adjusted life: good food, affection, an education, praise when he did well, encouragement to do better when he needed it.

Howard, on the other hand, was put in a cage in the basement. He was only given enough food to survive. She whipped him regularly, verbally abused him, and made sure that the temperature in his prison was always either burning hot or freezing cold. In other words, she made his life a living hell.

Was she a loving mother? Did she deserve the love and praise that Harold gave her? Did she deserve the "mother of the year" award from her town? After all, she did a WONDERFUL job with one son.

Parable 2.

One hundred people were on a boat that exploded and capsized. They ended up in the water, swimming amongst burning debris. There was nothing to hang on to, and shore was miles away. Suddenly a boat appeared. It was obviously huge. The captain called out, "I am a loving man, so I have come to your rescue. I have room on my boat for 1000 people. But I choose to rescue only 5. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I pick you, and you, and you, and you, and you. The rest of you are on your own."

Could the same Jesus who said, "Let the little children come to me", really send little children who haven't heard the gospel (and haven't been given a choice) to ETERNAL punishment?


Parable #3 (or, "I'm just not getting this Romans 9
stuff...and believe me, I'm not taking it lightly")

Susie and Sally were identical twins who did everything together. They loved each other dearly and were virtually inseperable. When one did a good deed, the other was right with her. When one got in trouble, the other was there, too. One day Susie and Sally were sitting in their living room flipping through the TV channels, when a TV evangelist came on the screen. Something he said touched Susie's heart, and she was "saved" then and there. Seconds later, an earthquake struck, and Susie and Sally were both killed instantly. As they sat before the judgment seat, the Judge said, "Susie, you're saved. You're headed for an eternity of joy. Sally, sorry to say, you're not among the elect. Off to eternal punishment for you."

As Susie headed off with the rest of the eternally blissful, she called over her shoulder, "Goodbye, Sally. Now I see that the entire purpose of your existence was to show me the riches of his glory."