Introduction
In her blog, “Be Careful Little Feet Where You Go” playing off the familiar children’s song, Caroline Newheiser writes,
“The counselor can use these word pictures to motivate the counselee to make the decision to obey Scripture with her whole heart. For example, my counselees need to think of taking the correct path when they make plans for the weekend, decide whom to choose as a friend, or what to do when caught in sin. The children’s song ends with the line that “your Father up above is looking down in love.” God’s loving omnipresence is a powerful motivator to make the right choices.”
Personal Experience
Periodically a counselees and students will say to me, “You use a lot of metaphors and allusions that are so helpful. Where did you learn to do that?” I smile, nod my heard, and say, “I had a great teacher. His name if Jesus. And being an English minor at Bob Jones University where classics were normal fare also taught me the value of verbal pictures.
On other occasions, both students and counselees have commented, “You always seem to have s tory in your back pocket to whip out and illustrate with.” My response is usually something like, “Oh, you mean like Jesus seem to always have a ready parable?”
Jesus taught us many methodological skills by modeling them that make very good tools in the repertoire of the biblical counselor. Here is good skill building exercise for you. Read through gospels with one objective, cataloging the skills that Jesus models. You might be surprised at both the practical skills. Metaphors and parables are the tips of the proverbial iceberg.
Learning to Think Metaphorically
The weekend of September 10-12 at BTS we had our new Doctor of Ministry student orientation. As Dr. Roy McDaniel, our Director of the DMin department was waxing eloquently about the different concentrations within the program, one of which is Biblical Counseling a new metaphor for Biblical Counselors popped into my mind. Bouncing off twenty-third Psalm and Luke 15:3-7 (Parable of the Lost Sheep). Biblical Counselors are the veterinarian—we minister to hurting, lost sheep. The Public Theology majors are the prophets who often spoke in specific high-stakes public venues like city gates, temple courts, or directly to kings and national assemblies. The Apologetics majors, some will train to be like Hababkkuk while others will be like Elijah, the polemical apologist. Others will concentrate on pastoral ministry. They will be the door keeps (Psalm 84:10).
Multiple Biblical Evidence
Scanning through the Scriptures we find at least thirteen well-known metaphors for God:
A rock, cornerstone (Ps 18:2, Ps 62:6, 1 Cor 10:4, Eph 2:20)
A fortress/stronghold (Ps 18:2)
A shield (Ps. 18:2 and Gen 15:1)
A consuming fire (Dt 4:24, Heb 12:29)
A shepherd (Ps. 23:1-3, John 10:14-16
A potter (Is 64:4-8, Rom 9)
A mother hen (Ps. 91:4, Matt 23:37
Light (Ps 27:1, 1 John 1:5)
Wind/breath (Gen 2:7, Jer 17:13,
A father and mother (Ps 103:13, Is 66:13)
A bridegroom (Is 62:5, Matt 9:15, Mk 2:19, Eph 5, Rev 19:7, 21:2)
A fountain of living waters (Jer 2:13, 17:13
Pam’s Fascination with Dale Ralph Davis’s Commentaries
If you have not read them, you are missing a master of metaphor usage. Pam says she likes his commentaries because he is earthy. As I listen to her renditions of her morning Q-times when we eat lunch, I’ve realized what earthy means. It is his masterful use of metaphors (stories at times) to illustrate God’s truth in the Psalms.
Conclusion
Well, now, if we were to put the case before the Supreme Court with this stack of evidence, it seems rather obvious that the decision they would render would be: The use of metaphors is not only acceptable, but the proliferation of their use throughout the Scriptures makes their use not only legal, but by God’s modeling and self-identification on the part of Jesus, essential in the communication skill set of ministering God’s truth.
Implementation
Whether you are preparing to teach, preach, disciple or counsel, considering what metaphors might clarify your communication and enable motivation development towards obedience and service is an essential exercise. For some folks, this comes rather naturally, for others it will take intentional practice to train oneself incorporating it into your skill set. Hence, the implementation is to determine to prepare, practice (some may need to practice before a mirror and speak aloud to be comfortable), and present.
