Using metphors and stories is a valuable teaching tool. Hence why Yahshua would teach in parables because they were memorable to the audience, but also to cause them to search for the truth.
Here is a story to share with your family around the kitchen table. See if they can guess the moral of the story. I have added some scriptures at the end to help leave clues to the answer.
New Problem For a Mouse
A mouse, looking through a hole in the wall, sees the farmer and his wife open a package. He was terrified to see that it was a mousetrap. He ran to the patio to tell all the farm animals this disastrous problem.
Near to the patio was a chicken, a lamb, and a cow. The mouse says to the animals, "I have a life threatening problem! There is a mousetrap at the farmer's home!"
The chicken that was cackling and digging says, "Excuse me, Mr. Mouse, I understand that it is a big problem for you, but it does not hurt me at all."
So, the rodent went to the lamb and he says the same thing, "Excuse me Mr. Mouse, but I don't think I can do much for you."
The mouse went to the cow and she said, "But am I in danger? I think not!" said the cow.
The mouse returned to the house, worried and dejected to face the farmer's mousetrap.
That night a great noise was heard like that of the mousetrap catching its victim. The farmer's wife jumped out of bed and ran to see what she had caught. In the dark, she did not see that the mousetrap caught the tail of a poisonous snake. As a result, the speedy snake bit the woman with deadly venom from it's mouth. The husband immediately took his wife to the hospital, and while returning to the house, she came down with a high fever.
The farmer decided to comfort his wife by preparing a nutritious soup, so he grabbed the knife and went to find the main ingredient: the chicken. Since the woman did not recover from her illness, friends and neighbors went to visit them, and the farmer killed the lamb to feed them. However the woman did not recover from her illness and died.
And in the end, the husband sold the cow to the slaughterhouse to cover the funeral expenses.
Discussion
What is the moral of the story?
Scripture Hints
Mt. 23:1-4
Mt. 26:31-46
Mt. 7:12
Luke 10:30-37