KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Soup
THE STORY IS told of a young man who came to the door of a monastery with a large duck in his arms...
His uncle, who happened to be one of the monks, answered the knock. "Here, uncle, this is a gift for you and the others. Eat it in good health." The uncle was very grateful and that night, with the duck dressed and stuffed, he and the others enjoyed a generous meal. A few days later, another knock came on the monastery door. "I am a friend of the nephew who brought you the duck. I have been down on my luck lately, and I wonder if I might impose on you for a bite to eat and a place to sleep for the night?" "Of course, my son, you are most welcome." That night, he joined the monks for some warm duck soup. A few days later, another knock on the door. "Hi, I am a friend of the friend of the nephew who brought the duck. Could I impose on you for a bit of hospitality?" He too was welcomed...more duck soup. A few more days went by. Another knock. "Hello, I am a friend of the friend of the friend of the nephew who brought the duck." That night at dinner he was presented with a steaming bowl of hot water. He tasted it, looked up, and asked, "What is this?" "Well, this is the soup of the soup of the duck that my nephew brought."
THOUGHTS: I cannot help but wonder if this is what has happened in much of contemporary Christianity with its multiplicity of doctrines, practices, and watered down moral standards, which bears so little resemblance to the robust faith presented in the New Testament. It's been handed down to such an extent that the original is hardly recognizable. (Hugh Fulford)
KneEmail: "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Cor. 11:3; cf. 1 Tim. 4:1).