|
|
|
From the Desk of Milt Johnson |
Where is God?
Two little boys, age 8 and 10 who were expressively
mischievous. They were always getting into trouble and their
parents knew
that if any mischief occurred in town they were probably involved.
The boy’s mother heard that a clergyman in town had been
successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would
speak to her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them
individually. The mother took the 8 year old first, with the
older boy scheduled for that afternoon. The clergyman, a huge
man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked
him sternly, Where is God? The wide-eyed boy’s mouth
dropped open but he made no response. The clergyman repeated
the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God?" Again
the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised
his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy’s
face an bellowed, "Where is God?" The boy let out
a yell and bolted from the room. He ran home and dove into
his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother
found him, he asked, "What happened?" The younger
boy grasping for breath replied, "We are in BIG TROUBLE
this time, dude, God is missing and they think we did it."
Milt Johnson
Trusting the Potter
"Thou are the potter, I am the clay." How often I've sung the
familiar hymn, but I haven't always realized the significance
of the Potter. Instead I've sometimes tried to resist His pressing
and kneading processes.
One day I sat watching, and fascinated as the potter kneaded
and applied pressure to the lumps of clay on the wheel. There
was lots of time spent working with the clay, pressing and kneading,
before beginning to shape it into a vase. The potter has to
know exactly how much pressure to apply so as not to damage
the clay. The potter was explaining that all the air and imperfections
must be worked out. If this were not done the vase would be
destroyed in the firing process.
The longer I watched the potter at work, the more fascinated
I became. I thought of spiritual lessons I might learn.
I know the Lord spends a lot of time working on me. He must
apply pressure to my life and shape me into the vessel He wants
me to become. He's working out my flaws and not only reshapes
me into a vessel fitted for His use and also is preparing me
to withstand the fiery trials that come.
The potter (God) knows exactly how much pressure to apply to
my life. I am valuable to Him, and He doesn't want to damage
me by applying more pressure than I am ready for at any given
time. If I remember that the master Potter deals as gently with
me as the human potter deals with his clay, surely I can trust
myself and every area of my life to Him.
Milt Johnson |
| |
|
|
