How do you move an elephant in a House?

A parable for the Church

There was a time when elephants lived outside our home. We watched him wreck havoc to others in the communities, but he never came to us, we were safe. He knew his place and was not welcomed in our home. Then there was the time he showed up at our doorstep, and we said nicely, please go away we don’t want you here we don't believe in what you do. So he listened and respected our wish, but went away hurt. But an elephant never forgets and he started to come back in our neighborhood. Our neighbors made friends with him by seeing he was hungry and fed him peanuts, and so he made it a habit of showing up regularly. They then got use to seeing him, and allowed him to roam free in our immediate neighborhood. But he never came into our house!

We had some friends and acquaintances that made friends with this elephant, and one day when they visited us, he came along with them into our house. They showed us that this elephant was funny and not as damaging as people first thought, and we can easily be friends with him, just as they are.

Has this elephant come to your house?

But the elephant was not satisfied to having the house to himself, he became only the first to move in. Not only has this elephant moved in, he brought the rest of  his friends, the animals in the zoo. Mostly the hyenas, but there were monkeys too. People started to laugh that this elephant was in the house, and started to enjoy his company, he seemed to become part of us. The dogs barked, growled and howled. The parrots flew around mimicking other sounds of the animals,clucking and cawing, and they all became part of the household. The house became so lively that some started to wonder how they got along so long without them. They became the main attraction whenever someone would visit us.

But some of them complained wanting the elephant out. This was their house too, and they said that they only want their kind of creatures living in the house. They said, ever since they could remember we never had these creatures inside our home. So they were accused by the others of not being open nor having the tolerance to love all Gods creatures, and give them the respect they deserve. The others insisted that the animals stay, even though they were taking up a lot of room and most of the attention was on them.

Soon many of the animals gave birth to a whole new generation and....

There’s only one way to move an elephant in a house. When no one is home, or no one really cares or everyone is sleeping.

The conclusion of the story

Genesis 1:26-28 "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

The leaders that have led the new revival have made up down, and everything inside out. Instead of man reflecting the image of God, we now reflect the image of the animals   as the new revival is practiced inside the Church.