My Journey Toward No Longer Making Assumptions

I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan last week. Something he wrote struck me. Chan was talking about the parable of the sower and how we shouldn’t just naturally assume that we are the good soil.

I realized right off that I have always assumed this way. I read this parable and I automatically think of myself as the good soil that Jesus speaks of. And this isn’t the only parable I do this with. With any parable or story that I read I tend to identify with the “good character.”

When I read the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) I want to identify with the son who disowns his father and runs off to a foreign land but then realizes his mistake and returns home. But many times I resemble the older brother who gets angry with the forgiveness and generosity of the father.

Likewise, when I read the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20) I like to think that I am one of the workers who worked only a few hours but received a generous reward from the vineyard owner. But I think if I really found myself in that situation I would actually be on the side of the workers who are greatly upset with the owner for his generosity.

I read the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18) and I want to believe that I am like the tax collector who realizes his sin and asks God for mercy. The Pharisee compares himself to the tax collector and thanks God that he is not a sinner like him. I compare myself to that Pharisee and I thank God that I am not like him. Which makes me exactly like him.

When I read the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) I compare myself to the Samaritan who helps the man who was robbed. But maybe I am more often like the priest and the Levite and I turn a blind eye to the hurting people all around me everyday. Or maybe I am more like the man who is beaten and lying on the side of the road in need of help.

The question I must answer is “Why do I do this?”

Perhaps it is my own pride that makes me want to believe that I really am good or that I am doing what God wants me to be doing.

Perhaps it is human nature to believe that we are doing the best we can. To identify with what we want to be or what we believe God wants us to be.

Perhaps it is sin that is still present in me that deceives me and makes me forget what I really am sometimes. Because the truth is that I do not always act like I am the good soil in Jesus’ parable. Sometimes I am more like the seed sown on the rocky soil that receives the word with joy but has no root. Other times I am like the thorny soil and the cares of the world choke out the word. Hopefully sometimes I do resemble the good soil that produces the crop. But if I am being completely honest this doesn’t happen as often as I would like to think it does.

For whatever reason I always want to assume the best about myself, but maybe I can learn something by being honest with myself and with God. Perhaps if I can learn to inspect my life as I read these parables I can become more like what I need to be.