The Coal Basket

The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of
eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up
early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His
grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he
could.

One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you
but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as
I
close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said,
"Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of
water."
The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before
he
could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You will
have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river
with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he
returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was
"impossible to carry water in a basket, " and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You
can do this. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to
watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his
grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would
leak
out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard,
but
when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of
breath,
he said, "See Papa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the
basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. "Son,
that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or
remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside
out. That is the work of God in our lives, to change us from the
inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His son.

Take time to read a portion of God's word each day, and remind a friend
by sharing this email.












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