The parable of the mosquito net

I am hoping this doesn't sound heretical. I don't mean it in this way. I feel like upon waking this morning, God gave me a specific idea in my head about his kingdom.

So then, to what shall we compare the kingdom of God?

I (Gwenn, not God) tell you this-- the kingdom of God is like a big net, that can be draped over your bed at night to keep out the mosquitoes. The mosquitoes will still be there in the room with you. They will swarm the net. In the morning you will see dozens and dozens of mosquitoes that died trying to work their way in. But you will be safe.

But do not be deceived. You need to properly drape the net each night-- it takes a few extra minutes when you're already tired. You need to tuck it under the mattress so mosquitoes can't work their way in. You need to take the time to tie up the net every morning or critters somehow work their way in during the day.

You need to deal with the fact that sometimes sleeping under a net makes you feel a bit confined and it will also make you feel a little bit hotter during an already hot night. You will want to escape it.

You need to keep your entire body under the net all night-- you can't stick just a little bit of you out of it and thing you'll be safe.

And above all, you need to make sure that before you go to bed there aren't any mosquitoes that are hiding inside the net because it doesn't matter if you keep out 2 dozen malaria-infested mosquitoes if one is trapped inside with you.


I will leave it to you to draw the parallels...