If you are new to the Parables writings, I want to welcome you and let you know that you can learn about the inspiration for them on the main page of this website. If you are already familiar with these Parables, I thank you for your continued interest in them. To kick off this new website I thought I’d share the very first parable in the first book, “Parables for Plain People.” It is the Parable of the Brick.

Parable of The Brick
It happens all the time, so I wasn’t surprised when it happened again the other day.  I needed something to put under the leg of the metal table outside the basement door.  Something  to even it up and keep it off the ground.  As I looked through my “collection of stuff”, I found just the thing: half a brick that I had salvaged for just such an occasion as this.
Around any recently-built house, if you poke around in the dirt you can find any number of bricks—whole or broken.  When I come across them, I dig them out and stack them someplace handy.  Of course, not everyone is a scavenger and a pack-rat like me.  Most folks want to clean up and clear out what they think of as junk—to pick up and straighten up and get rid of all those odds and ends of stuff.  Not me. 
I can always find a use for an occasional brick;  even half-bricks and larger scraps.  I used to wonder why anyone would just throw away something as useful as a brick.  (I have also thought it the height of wastefulness to throw perfectly good, used 2x4's and scraps of plywood—even five- or six-foot  pieces of electrical cable, half a dozen shingles, the tail-end of a roll of roofing material —you know what I mean.)  Nothing is as useful as a couple of bricks, or some 2x4 scraps or three feet of roofing felt, especially when that’s all you need.
Certainly, it’s true that when you’re engaged in a real building, repair or remodeling project, a wheelbarrow full of bricks or a few beat-up boards are a waste of time.  You can spend more time rehabilitating those scraps than they’re worth.  Not only that, but a few bricks just aren’t good for much when you have ambitious plans.  
Think about it.  How much can you build with a couple of odd bricks?   It’s more economical to have new materials delivered on skids—then just throw away whatever is left over when you’re finished with the project.  At least that’s true these days, when time and labor are valued higher than materials.  No wonder the contractor just dumps those left-over bricks and wood scraps into a hole and covers them up. 
In spiritual terms, however, the divine Builder values each brick, shingle and 2x4.  True, a single brick isn’t much good by itself, but the Builder never makes His plans without taking the individual bricks—and their place in the total structure—into account.  
The apostle Paul says we should think of ourselves as living stones, or bricks, each with a specific place in the Building planned by God.  Each one, in its appointed place, makes the structure strong and beautiful.
When we are tempted to think of ourselves as insignificant and unimportant, we should recall that the failure or absence of a single brick is all it takes to bring down a mighty arch, to topple an imposing wall.  Never think that your contribution doesn’t matter—that your accomplishments don’t count—where the work of the Lord is concerned.  
The servant who buried his “bricks” in the back yard, instead of building something useful with them was called “wicked” when his master returned.  “I didn’t give you enough bricks to build a bridge or a building, but at least you could have built a nice barbecue pit.”  Or propped up a table.
Have you done anything useful with the bricks the Builder gave you?  And, as one of His bricks, are you helping hold up your share of the load and presenting an attractive appearance to the world’s “sidewalk supervisors”?  Mind you, I’m not accusing—just asking.

I’ll be making regular posts to the Parables Updates portion of the website. If you have any reactions, comments or questions about the current post, or anything else for that matter, just go to the “Contact” section and send them to me. I’ll be happy to give you my response right away. And, if you are already a fan of these Parables, or perhaps, have read any of the books of Parables, and would like to make a comment or give a review, include that in the Contact when you send it, and I’ll add it to the “Reviews” section. I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for joining us today.

In the meantime, have a great lifetime–and if the Lord is in charge it’ll surely be a great lifetime.