Hope in the Heartland
Just keep pulling the cord
Pastor, Peabody Bible Church
A preacher was making his visitation rounds on his trusty old bicycle one day when he came across a young boy who was trying to sell a lawn mower.
“How much do you want for it?” the preacher asked.
“I want to make enough to buy a bicycle,” the boy explained.
The preacher, who just happened to need a lawn mower, thought for a minute and then suggested that he would be glad to trade his bicycle for the boy’s mower.
The boy was thrilled. So the preacher took the mower and pulled the cord a few times, but the mower refused to start. The preacher told the boy that he couldn’t quite get the engine to turn over and asked if there was a special trick to getting the mower started.
The little boy replied, “My dad says you have to cuss at it to get it started.”
The preacher was shocked. “I’m a preacher. In fact, I’ve been saved so long I don’t even remember how to cuss.”
The little boy replied with an ornery smile, “Just keep pulling that cord, and it’ll come back to you.”
Christian’s are not above frustrations and fits. The process of reaching spiritual maturity happens each day of our lives and it takes place on the spiritual battlefield of a fallen world. In other words, it’s not easy, optional, automatic, or ever completed. We are to be alert, daily seeking God’s guidance so that our lives will honor Him.