For over 2,000 years, the church has looked to the apostle Paul and his letters in order to understand and follow the Christian life. Paul had his own compelling way of sharing Jesus’ message with others, through the use of the metaphor—a brief, imaginative word picture that shows the same truth as a longer story.

From casting himself in the role of a slave, to presenting the Christian as a soldier or an actor, or even showing how we are vessels in the King’s house, Paul’s gallery of enriching, life-changing story pictures paints for us an indelible picture of the Christian faith.