Morning Coffee
INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
but in the use made of them."
SEPARATE TRASH FROM TREASURE!
Written by Dr. Fred Craddock, the following story was passed along to me:
One of my schoolmates spent many years ministering in China. He was under house arrest and the soldiers came one day and told him that he could return to America. The family was celebrating. The soldiers said, 'You can take 200 pounds with you.'
They had been there for years! Two hundred pounds. They got the scales and they started the family arguments - two children, wife, and husband. Must have this vase . . . Well, this is a new typewriter . . . What about my books? . . . What about our toys? They weighed everything and took it off, until at last they had it right on the dot: two hundred pounds.
The soldiers asked if they were ready to go and they said, "Yes!" "Did you weigh everything?" They said, "Yes!" "Did you weigh the kids?" "No, we did not." "You will have to weigh the kids." In the blink of an eye, the typewriter, vase, books, all became trash. Trash. It happens.
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Talk about a paradigm shift. How often have we all weighed our goods without considering our "kids"? Think of the times we placed value on our "stuff," only to be swiftly reminded of the value of a loved one.
This concept is confirmed with the story of a man who showed up at the pearly gates with a wheelbarrow full of gold bars. St. Peter explained that he could not "take it with him." Nevertheless, St. Peter consulted with God about the man being allowed to bring the gold bars. God answered with a simple question: "Why does he want to bring in paving materials?"
