Let me share with you...
Illustration
Let me share with you the parable of the forgetful minister ...
Once there was a minister who forgot not weddings, not funerals, not even the names of bouncing little children. All pastoral bases were perfectly touched; all denominational obligations wholly fulfilled, even the five "one time only" national capital fund drives. If perfect attendance pins had been awarded for clergy meetings, denominational conferences, and meetings of the local church board, the minister's entire body would have been covered with little gold bars. No, all this minister ever forgot was the nourishment of spirit that comes from sharing in another person's search, from holding a hand at a bedside, from laughing with the children one has grown to know so well. The last twenty years of service were, for this minister, a tough and exhausting battle.
Even the sweetest miracles grow bitten if we let ourselves forget. The children of Israel had danced for joy at the miracle of the manna. Now, grown used to the miracle and forgetful, they grumbled, "We loathe this worthless food!" Their journey to a good place became a battle every step of the way.
God gives us simple nourishment. It is humble, but it's also close at hand. It is strewn across our pathways. It is tucked in the situations we face very day. It is just what we need. Let's not lose our sense of wonder, our fresh joy in the miracles God gives so close at hand.
Once there was a minister who forgot not weddings, not funerals, not even the names of bouncing little children. All pastoral bases were perfectly touched; all denominational obligations wholly fulfilled, even the five "one time only" national capital fund drives. If perfect attendance pins had been awarded for clergy meetings, denominational conferences, and meetings of the local church board, the minister's entire body would have been covered with little gold bars. No, all this minister ever forgot was the nourishment of spirit that comes from sharing in another person's search, from holding a hand at a bedside, from laughing with the children one has grown to know so well. The last twenty years of service were, for this minister, a tough and exhausting battle.
Even the sweetest miracles grow bitten if we let ourselves forget. The children of Israel had danced for joy at the miracle of the manna. Now, grown used to the miracle and forgetful, they grumbled, "We loathe this worthless food!" Their journey to a good place became a battle every step of the way.
God gives us simple nourishment. It is humble, but it's also close at hand. It is strewn across our pathways. It is tucked in the situations we face very day. It is just what we need. Let's not lose our sense of wonder, our fresh joy in the miracles God gives so close at hand.
