Ah, me...! One never knows where great spiritual knowledge may lead.
This was brought home again this past week when a particular radio preacher advised his listeners that our Lord's exhortation regarding the giving of a cup of cold water in his name (Mark 9:41) really refers to providing water for the 144,000 sealed Israelites of Revelation 7 and 14 during the end time Tribulation. The Lord himself must be somewhat amazed at times upon learning what he actually meant.
It brings to mind the story of a preacher in an era when education was not so widespread and extemporaneity in preaching was more common. On one occasion, the gentleman took his text from Christ's parable of Luke 19 in which a nobleman pronounces judgment on an irresponsible servant. With difficulty the preacher read from verse 22: "Thou knewest that I ...that I... was an, uh... oyster man" and proceeded to preach on "Jesus, the Oyster Man" (the text, of course, reading that the nobleman was an "austere" man). The preacher did the best he could and, as the story goes, the sermon resulted in a convert.
For those blessed with greater knowledge, ability and understanding, however, the bar is raised considerably. The tragedy, oftentimes, is that the sheep do not rise above the level of either the shepherd by whom they are fed or that with which he feeds them. As we used to share with the theology class that we taught in a small Bible school, there are times in which a healthy skepticism (as opposed to mere faultfinding or cynicism) can prove useful.
Not that destiny depends on the one to whom a cup of water is given, but the principle here becomes that of a biblically based logic and reasoning which can, and frequently does, carry over into matters of greater importance.
Burl Ratzsch
