Trying to fool the Master....

There was something about the scriptures we were discussing in Bible class yesterday morning that made me think of one of my favorite illustrations from my father’s sermons. In case you did not know, he was a preacher.

There was a wise old man who sat on his porch and entertained questions from people of all walks of life. All day long, he would expound wise sayings that could come only after many years of observing life.

One day, a young man caught a bird and thought to himself "I will fool the old man. Then I will be considered wiser than he; and people will then come to me for advice."

So he placed the bird in the palm of his hand and held it with his thumb pressing on its neck. He pondered how he would approach the old man and ask him whether he thought the bird in his hand was alive or dead.

If the old man answered that the bird was alive, the lad would use thumb pressure to break its neck so that he could prove the man of wisdom wrong.

However, if the old man declared that “Alas. The bird is dead.” He would release the bird to fly away. Either way, people would think him wiser by far.

So…the young man approached the porch with his hands behind his back and told the old man he had a riddle for him. He brought his hands around in front of him and said, “Can you tell me if this bird is alive or dead?”

The old man squinted his eyes and thought for a minute. Then he stated his answer, “Son. It all depends on you.”

How good are you at guessing?

Saturday was "grape harvest" day...YUM! I always juice the concords and try to keep the mess to a minimum. In the dead of winter, it is such a treat to taste the "fruits of our labor." But, I especially love to save at least one container for communion as we travel or share a special time of worship.

This year, I goofed -- BIG TIME – in the cleanup, and knew John was not going to be happy with the result. So-o-o, when he came in, exhausted from his yard-work duties and plopped into his easy chair, I had prepared a quiz for him. See how you do, Dear Reader.

“Honey, I have a quiz for you to test the endurance of our marriage. See if you can guess which of these three I really did today:

1) I had some dish towels I used to strain the grape juice; I knew they’d wash up fine with bleach, but forgot I had put your blue shirt in the washer the day before.
2) Because it was midnight when I finished canning, I left the kitchen in such a mess. When I got up this morning, I had to face the cleanup and prepare for a potluck. Thanks to our wonderful, full-capacity dishwasher, I can fit about anything in it. So, besides the huge juicer, I also was able to fit in your favorite cutting board. Did you know you can delaminate wood in a dishwasher?
OR
3) I had a stack of things in the car to donate to a local charity, and after I got home, I realized I had left one of your tools in the car seat and must have donated it.
Which of these three do you think is true?”

Because John had trouble guessing, I made it easy for him. I asked him to place them in order of importance to him and to our marriage. I will tell you this much – our marriage is safe for the moment… he placed the real answer third in importance, stating “No one would be that dumb.”

Now…one more quick question – can you guess which of our three children never says to me: “So that’s where I get that gene!”?