The Gospel Blimp and Other Modern Parables by Joseph Bayly (Book Review)

Here is something different for the new year. If you are looking for a book to read this year, here is an excellent one worth reading. Of course, if you want the best Book ever to read- read The Holy Bible before anything. :-) It's God's Book and it's the best Book ever because it gets better and better with every read- no matter how many times you read it! It's living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword (like Hebrews 4:12-13 talks about)- so it always cuts to the quick and cuts to the heart and cuts to the point- but it's a good kind of cut, like getting a thorn out, that leads to healing. :-)
      And if you read another book after that, then check out this one, which also can cut to the quick at times and get to the heart because it draws on Biblical points and points us back to Jesus and His standards. :-) It's an older book, but its message is still powerful and very relevant for today. It's actually a collection of short stories- modern parables, as the title declares. It's much in keeping with Jesus' style of teaching. (see Matthew 13:34-35) And it's really good. So then, here is my review of "The Gospel Blimp and Other Modern Parables" by Joseph Bayly.
(Note: I believe there are different variations out there that may or may not contain all the stories I have reviewed here. I am reviewing a 1983 compilation publication from LifeJourney Books from David C. Cook Publishing in Elgin, IL. ISBN: 0-7814-0935-7)
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         Okay then- on to the stories. I don't know if you have the same version I do or not, but the book I have is a collection of modern parables by Joseph Bayly.
The first in the collection was "The Gospel Blimp", which I greatly enjoyed for its message- as I did all the stories in the book. I particularly loved the core message of the story that it was more important to show the love of Christ to people rather than just preach at them. Now I want to carefully note- it is vitally important to share The Truth of The Bible with people. But we must remember Ephesians 4:15 and "speak The Truth in Love". In recent years, I have slowly been learning that and trying to remember that even if I know all the right things and am trying to be obedient and share Christ and His Word with people, if I don't do it in love- I am but a sounding gong or cymbal. (as 1 Corinthians 13 speaks about.) And Jesus Himself said that all people will know we are His disciples by the love we have for one another. (John 13:35) So that story resonated with me.
        Next up in the book was a section called "Gooley and Friends", which contained two stories about Herb Gooley and then three others that seemed to be unrelated to Gooley, but also had some great points. As to the Gooley stories themselves, I will offer my interpretations, though I am not sure that I totally got everything right, of course. From what I can tell, the "I Saw Gooley Fly" story seems to be making an analogy between a living faith in Jesus and the ability to fly. Herb Gooley is evidently a Christian in a world of non-Christians and he is willing to admit to being a Christ-follower (and non-believers are interested in knowing how to have the peace in life he has with Jesus)- yet he doesn't seem to be willing to share this information with others. It's a sad commentary on the church today where, according to statistics, some 90% of Christians never or will never share their faith with others. (Which, of course, is in direct disobedience to Jesus' command in The Great Commission, in Matthew 28:18-20). That one definitely hits close to home. I struggled with this a lot when I was younger. Though I tried to be faithful in sharing Jesus to some degree, I always felt like I wasn't doing enough and God worked in me to make me bolder in sharing His Word and my faith in Jesus. I am thankful to Him for His answer to prayer.
However, I also feel now that perhaps for a while I went too far in one direction where I was boldly preaching God's Word at people- but not remembering to do it as lovingly as I should. So that is something that I feel God has been working on me in recent years as well. And of course, I'm still not perfect at either area, but I'm always seeking God's help in getting better each day. (as Philippians 1:6 promises.)
           For the "Ceiling Zero" story, this seems to be Gooley retreating to the "Christian world". (i.e. Secluded in church and surrounded with Christian friends- both very good things in themselves- but perhaps to the extent of shutting out the world- which is not good, as we must be reaching out to the world in order to be the salt and light that Christ called us to be.) But I feel that by the end of the story, Gooley realizes this point and is seeking to be out in the world and practically showing Jesus' love to people, whereas his classmates all still seem to be stuck in this safe little "Christian world" where they just go through the routines of going to church, reading The Bible and praying (out of duty and tradition), but not really experiencing the full joy of The Lord and sharing Jesus with others as they should.
           "Mayday" seemed to be reemphasizing this idea of Christians not wanting to venture from that safe "Christian world" again and moving on to reach out to the rest of the world. "Rehoboam's Gold Shields" seemed to be showing the way that fervor for The Lord tends to wane off as the cares of this world crowd out God from our lives, as well as talking about Rehoboam's shame of bearing the cross of Christ. I really liked some of the stories that talked about having the braveness to speak out for what's right that God clearly tells us in The Bible- even if the rest of the world doesn't agree. "Protest Until Pizza" seemed to directly address this, as did "The Saving Message".
       The last part of the book I have has a section called "Meek Souls and Phonies" and includes "The Saving Message" story, along with others. "How Silently, How Silently" was a great Christmas story that really got to the real meaning of Christmas- reconciliation with God through Jesus. (This story reminded me some of Jesus' own parable regarding the great banquet that people missed out on and thus, the messengers went to the highways and byways to compel people to come in instead- in Luke 14:12-24).
     As a technology fan (particularly older technology as well as newer technology), I really enjoyed the story called "Does Man Exist? (By ENIAC II)"- a great analogy emphasizing how it's only logical that the created beings must have a Creator- a great response to the evolution/Creation debates that go on.
"A Small Happening at Andover" seemed to be another story talking about the need to move beyond religious (Pharisaical) dogmatism [like Jesus talked about in Matthew 23] and really showing true love to others- and when Christ is lifted up, He draws all men to Himself. "Black Gold" was an interesting story about how Christians can get sucked in to con artists, even those claiming to do God's work, and serves as a good warning to be careful who we trust and to look to The Lord for guidance in how we use the money He allots us. "Still Small Roar" is an absolutely beautiful allegory based on John 1:1-14, speaking of how Jesus has forever changed our world by bringing us salvation through His death and Resurrection. "How Shall We Remember John?" offered an interesting look at mourning and perhaps it's meant as a reminder that for Christians, we mourn with hope because we know we will be reunited forever with Jesus in Heaven.
                Well, there you go- there's my rundown of the book. I also liked the author's afterword as he gave a great word about the power of parables and how they expose us and force us to really consider the point of the message with a good story. He also mentions a powerful experience in a village in Gruyon, Switzerland- looking out one summer morning at the eternal Alps. :-) The Swiss Alps inspired another famous Christian writer, Hannah Hurnard. (Whose "Hinds Feet on High Places" book is another great allegory too.) God must have just really blessed Switzerland with breathtaking beauty. (Both in its land and its people.) :-)
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