eastern West Virginia with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up
early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible.
His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in anyway 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 very far . 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."
"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 very far . 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."
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Wow! A story yields a spectrum of responses. I wonder if Jesus parables brought out as much sarcasim. My thought as I read. Where's the Spirit in this story?
I agree with John M. about this story yielding a spectrum of responses. I'll add my own...I appreciate this story because I've been struggling with reading the Word on a consistent basis due to the fact that I often feel like I'm going through the motions and there's no transformation taking place. (Maybe sometimes I'm not yielding to the Holy Spirit to transform my heart, but I'm talking about even when I believe I am yielding but don't recognize the transformation.) I can relate to the little boy in the story about being so caught up in this reading-is-it-doing-anything-in-my-heart concept that I fail to see how much God really has "cleaned up" my heart over the years. It's a marathon, not a sprint...
I thought the punch line was going to be that the basket was now wet, not that it was clean.
Every story and parable has weaknesses. Push any parable too far and it becomes absurd.
But this story struck me. The boy thought he was fetching water in a basket (to be fair that's what his Grandfrather told him to do). In fact, he was cleaning the basket. Sometimes--especially in religious circles--we do things expecting an impossible result because we don't understand what we are doing.
Good story, good teaching Scot, even if the story's not historical!
Doug
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