Taxi drivers and priests.

The story is told of a New York cabbie and a  priest who arrived at the "Pearly Gates" at the same time. They were welcomed by St. Peter, who said that he would take them to their eternal homes. They followed St. Peter, who led them to a stunning enclosure, in the middle of which stood a mansion. There were deer and antelope gambolling across the verdant lawns, flamingos sunning themselves at the edge of a small lake, and fat rainbow trout swimming lazily in the water.    

Peter showed them around the mansion, there was an indoor pool, bowling alley, a fully equipped gym,  magnificent library, all  overlooking a beautiful private garden, with all manner of fruit trees, all of which appeared to be laden with delicious, ripe fruit. They spent the day exploring the place, and when St. Peter returned in the evening they were full of praise of the wonders they had discovered, and together they said how much they would enjoy spending eternity there.

"Oh no" said St. Peter "You have misunderstood me, this is the taxi driver's mansion" and looking at the priest, he said, "Your place is beyond those hills."

The priest thought to himself, "if this the cabbie's mansion, what must mine be like"? So he happily followed St. Peter. About half an hour later they stopped beside a tumble-down ruined house, sitting in the  middle of a very unkempt garden. The priest opened the door, and peeked inside. There were just two rooms that could be used, one with an old-fashioned iron frame bed, and the other contained an ancient coal range and a time-worn, very rickety table.

The priest was dismayed. "There must be some mistake" he said. "All my life I have slaved away as a parish priest on miserable wages, attended hundreds of useless parish meetings, christened thousands of babies, married and buried more people than I can remember, and this is all I get" he wailed.

"Well" said St. Peter, "it's like this... whenever you preached on a Sunday, everyone in your church fell asleep.... but whenever anyone jumped in the cabbie's taxi, and he started driving, everyone called on God to save them!"

Is your Christian "walk" a bit like the priest's in this story, more duty than devotion, more servitude than service? Perhaps the taxi driver's story resonates with you. Is your lifestyle impacting the people you interact with much more than you realize?

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17

The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. Isaiah 41:17-18

And just where does this water come from?  

Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give Me to drink, you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water. The woman said to Him, Sir, you have no vessel, and the well is deep. From where then do you have that living water? John 4:10:11

Jesus said...."He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water". John 7:38