One of the mistakes that we often make is to offer too much explanation. We spell things out that don't need to be spelt out. We try and explain the detail when we would be far better to let things speak for themselves. We give too much direction, forgetting that God may want to say different things to different people.
We need to remember that God doesn't want us all to be the same - variety is needed.
One of the main ways in which Jesus taught was through the stories he told, those little descriptions of everyday events that we now normally refer to as parables. We need to take note of the fact that it was rare for Jesus to say anything about what the story meant. He let it speak for itself - and, no doubt, the same story would sometimes say different things to different people. As Martin Poole comments (in Curating Worship by Jonny Baker, p. 77): "It's a true form of parable, where we just 'tell the story' and let the participants drawn their conclusions themselves. I guess I'm saying the epiphany needs to come from God, not us."
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