Bonni and I are on a business trip but I wanted to give the PCF family something to think about before we meet this next coming Sunday. I want to share with you the deeper meaning of the Indian Parable of the six blind men and the elephant. Many of you are familiar with this story where each of six blind men are standing by a different part of an elephant and each decides what the elephant may be based on the limited information they are able to gather from their perspective. Because their information is limited they all come to different conclusions of what they believe they are experiencing. One thinks it’s a tree, another thinks it’s a wall, and another of the blind men think it’s a spear and so on.
Today this ancient parable is sometime used as a logical argument against those who promote the truth of Christianity. The claim is, it’s simple reasoning that our sensory perceptions and life experiences can lead to limited access and overreaching misinterpretations of truth. How can a person with a limited touch of truth turn that into the one and only version of all reality? However, when one looks deeper into the meaning of the parable a whole new truth emerges. The only way this parable can be told is through the eyes of a person who sees the whole picture and knows there is indeed an elephant and that six blind men are all touching the elephant in different places. If there was no one seeing the entire picture the parable could not be told all we would have is the descriptions of the 6 blind men and no reference to the truth. So in actuality, the parable is about someone who does indeed have the entire truth. Christianity opens the eyes to all who seek to see the entire picture. There is absolute truth and it is found in the life and teachings of Jesus. Let that be something to ponder this week.
Next Sunday, Feb. 24th we will gather to learn more about the amazing God that loves us more than we can comprehend. There is much work to do to help the world realize that there is an answer to all that troubles us. Looking forward to seeing everyone then.
Sincerely, pastor kent