An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains 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 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.Smiling the Grandpa said, "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."
What do we understand from reading this beautiful story?
Truly making us remember the word of God and bringing it in to our mind at the point of our need to transform us is the pure work of God (John 14:26; 16:13-14), but to put the word regularly inside our heart for the Holy Spirit to use in our lives is our duty (Psa 119:11). If we do not do our duty, we cannot blame God for staying in the same stagnated spiritual state of mediocrity. Lethargic spiritual attitude makes us leaky and dry without spiritual strength. To change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His Son (Rom 12:2; 2 Cor 3:18; Phil 2:12-13; 1:6), we should cooperate with God by allowing Him to do His work. By givng Him our time and mental faculties through reading of HIS HOLY WORD, we are setting up a platform for ourselves to live a transformed lives. Take time to read a portion of God's word each day and you will become spiritually clean every day, as it is like taking a bath to keep ourselves clean physically. And also remind a friend by sharing this story. Praise the Lord!
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