The Kingdom of God for Modern Academia

Jesus spoke to people about the kingdom of God in parables which related to things they understand. The following is an adaptation of the "Parable of the Talents" (Matthew 25:14-30) for an academic setting by Deborah and Loren Haarsma (1996). There are many more parables Jesus said regarding the kingdom of God. You can seek them in the Gospels.

The kingdom of God is like a professor who went off on a long
sabbatical. Before he left, he called together his graduate students
and gave each of them projects to work on; to one he gave five projects,
to another two, and to another one, each according to their ability.
The one who received five projects immediately went to work, designing
experiments, building equipment, and analyzing data. She worked long
and hard, and eventually she achieved good results on each project.
Likewise, the one who received two projects immediately went to work,
and eventually got results as well. But the student who received one
project was easily discouraged, got distracted by her coursework, and
eventually gave up.

After a very long time, the professor returned to settle accounts with
his students. The first student said, "Professor, you gave me these
projects to work on, and see, here are the results." And the professor
answered, "Well done, good and faithful graduate student. You have been
faithful over five projects. You shall be co-author on five
publications and receive a Ph.D! (And you can expect a good letter of
recommendation, too!)" Likewise the second student showed his results,
and the professor said, "Well done, good and faithful student. You have
been faithful over two projects. You will be co-author on two
publications, and receive a Master's degree."

But the third student came and said, "Professor, I know that you are a
harsh man, publishing where you did not labor, and claiming credit where
you did not contribute, and I was afraid. So I kept the lab locked up
and I didn't let anyone borrow any equipment. See, everything is just
the way you left it." Then the professor answered, "You wicked and
slothful graduate student! I will judge you by your own words. So, you
knew that I was a harsh man, publishing where I did not labor, and
claiming credit where I did not contribute; well then, you should have
at least gotten a teaching fellowship so that I wouldn't have had to pay
your salary out of my research grants! Now depart from me and from this
institution ... "

For to everyone who has, more will be given. But to him who has not,
even what little he has will be taken away.