A parable

There was once a very wealthy man with a large family of sons and daughters. He loved all of them very much, but was forced to leave them for a time to create a place for them to live in another country, which had more room and resources. He was very sad that some of his children would not remember him as they were very young, but he wrote them and hoped they would retain an idea of his love for them.

After a long time his children had grown older and became separated from each other. They had their own families, and many responsibilities, many forgot about their father, though he was still preparing a new place for all of his children and grand children.

Before the father had left he had prepared a steady supply of money, and food for all of his children. He had determined that the older ones would share with the younger, and that there would be enough for all, no matter how long his business took. But some of the children decided that they were not happy with their portion, and took more than enough for themselves. And that meant some did not have enough, and went hungry. Some did not have proper homes or clothes.

A group of the children with more than their share began to reread their fathers letters, and rejoiced in his love for them. They loved how he said they could trust him. They loved that he would take care of them, and their needs. They began to thank him and sing songs about how great father was to take such wonderful care of them.

The children without clothes and food heard these songs, and wondered why father did not care for them in the same way. Some of them determined that father did not love them, others believed they must have been bad children deserving punishment, and others began to hate father,

to hate him because of those songs

rev