Paul's powerful metaphor

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Metaphor is essential to grasping the divine/human character of God. Nowhere is metaphor used more compellingly than by the apostle Paul, especially in his use of the word "adoption" as a metaphor for God's loving grace.

In more than 50 years of ministry, I have become persuaded that the most destructive human experience is the sense of being unacceptable to and forgotten by a parent. The harshest words I ever heard came when I met with a marginal member of the congregation I served, to plan her mother's funeral. "First of all," she announced, "I want the service to be as short as possible, and I don't want you to say anything nice about my mother."