But then Jesus follows his prayer with a parable that reinforces this notion of childlike dependence and pleading. This parable is easily mis-understood as an allegory about God, in which God is cast as the reluctant neighbor who really doesn’t want to get out of bed and wake up his whole family, but eventually gives in because the guy in need is so bold — and besides, he’s probably already woken up the children already. The reluctant giver: No, this isn’t an image of God: this is an image of us! This is one of those “but even more so” parables, in which Jesus points out something decent that even we humble humans manage to do, and says “and so, imagine how much more” this goodness is the case with God. The sleepy neighbor in the story is not moved by friendship, but eventually even he shuffles out of bed to respond.
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