I am pretty sure that most of you have probably heard or read the following story before, but since it is Thursday and I am not preaching this Sunday, I thought I would share something different with you.
Billy was in the classroom working on his studies, and then to his horror, he looked down and saw the spreading puddle at his feet. When he realized what had happened, Billy was horrified and humiliated. The worst part was that the teacher was headed down the aisle his way. Billy didn’t know what to do. There was no way to hide it or cover it. There was no way to change it. He died inside as the teacher got closer and closer to his desk. Billy knew that the other children would make fun of him and he would never live it down.
Just as the teacher reached Billy’s desk, his classmate Sally walked by carrying a fish bowl. She was going to change the water. When she got to Billy’s desk, the slipped, spilling water all over him and all over the floor. Everybody, including the teacher, was quick to help clean up the mess. They thought it was one mess, but Billy knew it was two. He had been saved.
Later that day at the bus stop, Billy saw Sally and quietly said to her, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? That wasn’t an accident, was it?”
“No,” she said, “it wasn’t an accident.”
“Why did you do that?”
She smiled and said, “it happened to me once.”
A picture of the church?
A visual of “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep?” (Rom.12:15)
A pretty good parable to illustrate Jesus and the woman caught in adultery in Luke 7?
I think so. What do you think?
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I am not preaching this Sunday because I am headed to Ohio for the weekend. First, to see the future hall-of-famer i.e. my grandson, play T-ball Thursday night. Then headed to Sandusky on Friday to perform the rehearsal/wedding of my niece. I will be back in Spencer on Sunday evening. My computer time will be sketchy at best, so I will approve comments from my phone and respond when I have time. Thanks. See you all Monday with a week-long series of posts based on Love Does by Bob Goff.
What a great story, Bill! Looking forward to next week’s series!
Thanks Eileen. Will be interested to hear your take on the book.
First time reading that story and I really liked it. It’s a great illustration. Thank you for sharing and have a good week off.
Glad you liked it Dan. hope to have a great weekend.
Love that story. If we would only be like that little girl.
I had not heard this story before. Love it. A wonderful illustration. Have fun this weekend.
A story of grace. Great story!
It happened to me once.
I may not have done exactly what you’ve done – but I’ve messed up too.
I know Jesus wants His church to offer each other a hand – but that means we have to drop the stone that we were about to throw.
Hi Bill,
Have fun this weekend! Enjoy your family, you are a blessed man! Don’t listen to the world’s rhetoric about what ‘blessed’ means. The world is a ‘liar’ a ‘deceiver’, a ‘whitewashed tomb of death’.
The world talks a good talk, they just cannot perform that ‘talk’. We can walk the talk as believers in Jesus Christ. God is faithful to us.
I’m an idealist, therefore, the little girl should not have had to cover up for the little boy. Acceptance and care from others should be the default response of the other classmates towards him. His ‘puddle’ was not sin.
Those type of acts are from the heart of God. I think it also shows that sometimes we have difficult times so that we might be able to be compassionate and helpful when others have theirs.
Enjoy your weekend watching the future hall of famer!
I’ve never heard wetting your pants phrased in such a touching way, heh
But this does remind me of the purpose that God has in pain sometimes. It’s often to prepare us to minister to others.
Love that story every time I read it or hear it. Have fun this weekend. D and I are going to make our first trip back to Sandusky this August to visit Cedar Point.
Definitely a great picture of weeping with those who weep. Thanks for the challenge to be the Church that God desires, and to literally follow after Christ.
I haven’t heard that before, but it’s a lovely story. Have a great weekend, and cheer that slugger on!