SLIDE 4 Readings for Meditation A man once took his son out to a piece of land and said, “I’ll give you this farm if you’ll build a house and barn on it and dig a well. I want the house over there, the barn built here, and the well out beyond the barn. The son quickly agreed and was soon working. He built the house and barn where the father indicated, but when he came to the well he got to thinking that it would be more convenient to have it between the house and barn, so he changed its location. In time the father came to inspect the work and the boy pointed out how he’d done such a good job, but he was shocked when the father said, “I’m sorry that I won’t be able to give you the farm. You didn’t do what I asked.” The boy insisted that he had since he’d built both the house and barn where the father had indicated. All he had changed was the well. “No,” the father said. “you didn’t do one thing that I wanted done. You did what you wanted. You built the house there because you wanted it there, and the same way with the barn. It just happened that I selected the places you
- wanted. The reason I know that is that when it came to the well and it
wasn’t where you wanted it – you changed it.”
“Men's love to men condemns their lovelessness towards God. These Rechabites witnessed to the power of loyal love to their ancestor. Think
- f the wealth of love which we have all poured out on husbands, wives,
parents, children, and of the few drops that we have diverted to flow towards God. What a full flood fills the one channel; what a shrunken stream the other! Think of the infinitely stronger reasons for loving God than for loving our dearest.” Alexander Maclaren
“The constancy of His care, the longsuffering nature of His love, and the fidelity of His fatherhood should capture our interest in His every
- directive. As the Ruler of the universe, He could demand [obedience],
but as a loving Father He longs to hear an obedient response that so seldom has come.” Dayton Keesee Truth for Today Commentary: Jeremiah
