I just heard this, and I think it’s a great story.
There is a story about a king in Africa who had a close friend that he grew up with. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.
As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his friend replied, "this is good!"
"What do you mean, ‘this is good!’ How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you."
Romans 8:28. Sometimes we don’t see the good, but it is there. We have been conditioned by the world to see things a certain way; we live in a microwave society. Many times if things don’t seem right, right now, then we assume that everything is wrong. It is sometimes hard for us to take the long view. Do you think Job understood why he was suffering? His words make it clear that he didn’t. What about the man born blind in John 9? Jesus said that this man (keep in mind that this is a grown man, not a preschooler, or a young boy) was born blind that the works of God might be made manifest in him. In this day and age, I think that a lot of people would have been upset if they found out that they had lived for many years without their sight just so that God could “show off.” Not this guy, though, he rejoiced to have been given sight. Maybe that’s why he was chosen for that purpose. Look at it from the other perspective: He was part of Jesus’ ministry, and was instrumental in making salvation available to the whole world. This is good.
There is a story about a king in Africa who had a close friend that he grew up with. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.
As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his friend replied, "this is good!"
"What do you mean, ‘this is good!’ How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you."
Romans 8:28. Sometimes we don’t see the good, but it is there. We have been conditioned by the world to see things a certain way; we live in a microwave society. Many times if things don’t seem right, right now, then we assume that everything is wrong. It is sometimes hard for us to take the long view. Do you think Job understood why he was suffering? His words make it clear that he didn’t. What about the man born blind in John 9? Jesus said that this man (keep in mind that this is a grown man, not a preschooler, or a young boy) was born blind that the works of God might be made manifest in him. In this day and age, I think that a lot of people would have been upset if they found out that they had lived for many years without their sight just so that God could “show off.” Not this guy, though, he rejoiced to have been given sight. Maybe that’s why he was chosen for that purpose. Look at it from the other perspective: He was part of Jesus’ ministry, and was instrumental in making salvation available to the whole world. This is good.
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