Seven-Day Practical Faith Blog: The Parable of the Glacier

While visiting Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska this summer, I mused what parables Jesus might have delivered if he had been born in a colder climate. Jesus was a master at using everyday images to teach the people of the Middle East. What might he have done with what surrounded him in Alaska?

I imagined a Parable of the Glacier.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a glacier. It begins with a single snowflake that is joined by others. As snowfall continues, the pile of snow thickens in layers. The weight of the glacier increases as the snow hardens into ice. Once the ice becomes heavy enough and thick enough, the glacier begins to move. The massive glacier scrapes up dirt and rocks, reshaping the landscape it touches."

Much like Jesus's Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32) and Parable of the Yeast (Matthew 13:33), the Parable of the Glacier is about small beginnings, quiet transformation, and eventual flourishing.

The snowflakes, the tiny mustard seed, and the small amount of yeast are all that is needed in the kingdom of heaven. Each faithfully, invisibly, and silently does its work, building and building in secret. Eventually, the result of that work is revealed: a tree, a loaf of bread, and a mighty glacier that carves the land into something new.

The Parable of the Glacier builds upon Jesus's parables to make additional points. First, the snowflake cannot do its work alone. It needs other snowflakes to make the fullest difference.

Second, movement is inevitable when enough snowflakes join in.

Third, the glacier is not an end in itself. Its purpose is to change its surroundings in powerful ways.

If we heed these parables, we realize our role as Christians is to be faithful through all circumstances even when our results are not recognized. We continue working and bringing others to the movement. God is faithful to bless our work of transformation. It may take time. Perhaps the result won't look like we imagined it. But God will use us to accomplish holy purposes and change the landscape.

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