September 2008
by Pastor Dave Speicher

Recently, a friend of mine e-mailed me an incredible story I want to share with you.

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One morning they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant hoping to enjoy a quiet meal together. 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 and his wife were hoping he would not stop at their table, but sure enough, he did. “Where 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,” the professor replied. “Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really great story for you,” the gentleman said as he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table. The professor groaned and thought to himself, “Great…just what I need…another preacher story!”

The man then said, “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, where’s your daddy and whose child are you?” Whether he was at school, the grocery store, or wherever, people would ask the same question, “Whose child are you?” He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going into stores because the question hurt him so much.

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, “Whose child are you?” But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, “Son, where’s your daddy?” The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him thinking that now everyone would finally know the answer to the question. The new preacher sensed the situation right away and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said to the scared 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 anyone asked him “Whose child are you?” 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 agreed 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!” Then he walked away. The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked, “Do you know who that man was that just left our table?” She grinned and said, “Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s the governor of Tennessee!”

You know, someone in your life might need to be reminded of how special they are and that they can become a child of God. I want to encourage you to be a part of the Fall Ministries beginning soon, and learn even more about what it means to be God’s child. While you’re at it, why not bring someone with you who needs to understand how to become a child of God and what it means to be a part of His family?!!? Then, don’t forget to come and worship the Lord each Sunday and celebrate being His child. See you then!