ENCOURAGEMENT, tHE pOWER OF
ENCOURAGEMENT, THE POWER OF
>A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in
>Gatlinburg, TN.
>
>One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping
>to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food,
>they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from
>table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over
>and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here." But
>sure enough, the man did come over to their table.
>
>"Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice.
>
>"Oklahoma," they answered.
>
>"Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said.
>"What do you do for a living?"
>
>"I teach at a seminary," he replied.
>
>"Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well,
>I've got a really great story for you." And with that, the gentleman
>pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.
>The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great . Just what I
>need ...another preacher story!"
>
>The man started, "See that mountain over there? (pointing out the
>restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was
>a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because
>every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy,
>Who's your daddy?'
>
>Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people
>would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?' He would hide at
>
>recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into
>
>stores because that question hurt him so bad.
>
>"When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church.
>The boy would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the
>question, 'Who's your daddy?"
>
>But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast he got
>caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got
>to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put
>his hand on his shoulder and asked him, "Son, who's your daddy?"
>The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the
>church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to
>the question, 'Who's your daddy?'
>
>"This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using
>discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to
>that scared little boy... "Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see
>the family resemblance now. You are a child of God."
>
>With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said,
>"Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it."
>
>
>"With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked
>out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever
>anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a
>Child of God.'"
>
>The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't that
>a great story?" The professor responded that it really was a great
>story!
>
>
>As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher
>hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would
>have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.
>
>The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the
>waitress over & asked her, "Do you know who that man was -- the one who
>just left that was sitting at our table?"
>
>The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him.
>That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"