成人快手

Good morning.听 Like many people during lockdown, in 2020 I finally started working on my novel. And like many people who started novels during lockdown, I haven鈥檛 finished it yet! Part of the problem is that I want my story to be entertaining, profound, meaningful and persuasive all at once. In my case, perfection is in danger of becoming the enemy of the half-decent. There鈥檚 no doubt, though, that good stories are persuasive, and that persuasion is more powerful than force.

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The Austrian priest and writer, Ivan Illich, said that to change society you must tell a tale so persuasive that it sweeps away the old myths and becomes a preferred story.听

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Stories invite us to imagine a different way of living, and they can change our behaviour and beliefs more effectively than rhetoric. The Bible is full of stories, and none more persuasive and intriguing, I think, than those told by Jesus. But not everyone wants to listen to parables. Some find them too challenging, others too simplistic. But here鈥檚 one with a strong image to consider today.

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The kingdom of heaven, says Jesus, is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

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What he discovered was so precious to the man that he was willing to sell everything to cherish it. I wonder what is so precious to you that you鈥檇 give up everything to have it? For me, faith is not about following rules, it鈥檚 about discovering something so valuable that everything else loses its lustre.

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Father, Thank you for parables and persuasive stories. May we value your Kingdom of love and justice today. May we tell persuasive stories that change society for the good. Amen.

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