The Parable of the Benefactor

A wealthy man walked down a squalid alley, approaching four men and women huddled around a trash can fire.  All four were poor and sick, some had handicaps, and all had large amounts of debt they owed to merciless creditors.  They were at the point of despair.

Upon greeting them, the wealthy man announced that he would like to lift them each out of poverty by granting them-free of charge-a substantial gift.

"How much is this gift?" one of the poor asked.
"Seven hundred billion dollars each" the benefactor replied.
"I can't carry that much money" another of the poor exclaimed, "and you can't either.  You obviously don't have it with you."  The benefactor explained that he would write each of them a check.  Because the check was so large, he went on, it could only be cashed at a bank far away.  The benefactor added that the recipients would have to walk across rugged winter terrain to get there, but that he himself would accompany and help them.  During the journey, he would give them lessons on how to use the money-how to save, invest, make it grow, and how to live so they would not further indebt themselves.

"No thank you" the first poverty-stricken soul said, laughing bitterly.  "You don't have the money, and even if you did you'd just be stringing us along.  And even if you did give us the money, then we could only use it like you want us to.  No thank you."

The other three agreed, however, so the benefactor wrote three checks and they started to make their way up the dingy, steep streets.  At first, they were all cheerful, even as they slipped and fell in the drifts.  Their benefactor was always there, helping them up, talking about how they should manage their soon-to-be fortunes.

As the minutes grew into hours, though, the recipients started to tire.  They realized that the benefactor had never told them how long they would have to walk.  One of the recipients asked the benefactor: "How much farther is the bank?"  The benefactor would only respond, "Soon enough."

After several more hours of this, the recipient who had asked how long, decided she had had enough.  "Maybe I'm not ready for this journey just yet.  I have all my life to make it--I have the check in my pocket, and I know what general direction the benefactor is going.  I'll be fine if I stay behind for a little while and then catch up.  Besides, what sort of benefactor is he if he will only give the gift in one way?"

The benefactor quietly said, "It doesn't work like that.  You think you know what direction I'm going, but without me by your side you won't have the ability to even know what direction it is.  Gradually, you'll misplace your direction and end up on strange paths."  But the recipient was not to be persuaded, and she fell behind.

The hours continued, and the city gradually melted into quieter suburbs.  One of the remaining recipients got more and more disquieted by their direction, asking "I thought the bank was supposed to be in the city."

"I never said that," responded the benefactor.  "The bank is far away from the city, and after you get your fortune you will have little to do with that city anymore."

"But I love the city!" the recipient protested.   "It has brought you nothing but grief," the benefactor explained.  "Your love of the city gave you addictions, disease, and the inability to work or save.  In order to further your education, you will have to forsake the city and live in a far green country."

The recipient didn't like the sound of that at all.  He was thoroughly urbanized, and in his youth he had enjoyed what little of the night life he had been able to afford.  He wouldn't get the sort of parties he was accustomed to out there, he was sure of it.  He fell behind.

The final recipient had been the quietest of them all.  Still limping badly from her lame leg, and coughing violently, she kept on plodding along with the benefactor.  She fell many times, and each time, she let the benefactor lift her up.  She had been the slowest of them all, and even when she was crawling along her benefactor kept up, sometimes saying a word or two of comfort or encouragement, sometimes remaining silent.

As time went on, the benefactor started to help less and less, and started to lecture more and more, giving her lesson after lesson about money management.  Most of the time, he was actually reciting the same things over and over again, until the recipient could recite them by memory.  Sometimes, he would strike a new topic that fascinated her.

As the hours turned into days, and the days into weeks, the benefactor finally asked the recipient, "Have we gone far enough?"  The recipient was startled.  "I thought I was following you."  "You were, and are following me-if you had been walking your own paths you never would have made it here.  What I'm asking is why you are continuing?"

The recipient thought for a moment.  "This is what I do now.  You've given me more than just a check I can't cash right now--you've given me purpose, direction,and companionship.  Most of all, you've given me a goal that doesn't move."

"That is right" the benefactor said, smiling.  "Soon enough you will achieve your goal and deposit the check.  By then you will have mastered the principles I am teaching you now.  Even after you arrive, however, I will continue to teach you until you are as rich as I am."

Thus is our redemption.  Our works do not create salvation; instead, our works accept salvation.  By repenting and calling on God in the name of the Son, we are taking a journey with Him, learning from Him what He would have us do with our eternal lives and exaltation.  I pray that we may humble ourselves and make that journey with patience.