His grandson who wanted to be just like him
tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the
grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible
just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I
forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading
the Bible do?"
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting
coal in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river
and bring back a basket of water." The boy did as he was
told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to
the house.
The grandfather laughed and said, "You will
have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river
with the basket to try again.
This time the boy ran faster, but again the
basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he
told his grandfather that it was "impossible to carry water in a
basket," and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man
said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water.
You can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went
out the door to watch the boy try again.
At this point, the boy knew it was
impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran
as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all.
The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached
his grandfather the basket was again empty.
Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it's
useless!"
"So you think it is useless?"
The old man said, "Look at the basket." The boy
looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket
looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it
was clean. "Son, that's what happens when you read the
Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but
when you read it, it will change you from the inside out.
That is the work of God in our lives. To
change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image
of His son.
