Three Questions
Matthew 22:36-40
Once there was a certain king who believed that if he knew the answers to three particular questions, he would live a fulfilling and happy life. The questions were:
1.
When is the right time to begin?
2.
Who are the right people to listen to, and to avoid?
3.
What is the most important thing to do?
The most
learned advisors gave unsatisfactory answers, so the king visited a wise hermit
who lived in the woods and asked him the three questions. The hermit didn’t answer right away. He was struggling with a spade to dig a
garden plot. So, the king took the
shovel and started digging. When he was
finished digging two beds, he asked his three questions again.
Still,
the hermit didn’t answer as a bearded man ran into the clearing and fell at the
king’s feet. The man was suffering from
a serious stomach wound. The king
cleaned and bandaged the man’s wound several times through the night. He only fell asleep after the injured man
stopped bleeding and revived enough to take a drink of water.
The next
morning, the king awoke disoriented and wondering who the strange man staring
at him from the bed was.
“Forgive
me,” said the man, much to the king’s surprise.
“I do not
know you, and have no reason to forgive you,” said the king.
“Ah, but
I know you,” said the bearded man. “I am
your enemy. On my way to killing you, I
came upon your bodyguard who recognized and wounded me. I escaped from them, but would have died had
you not dressed my wound. I wished to
kill you, and you saved my life.”
The two
men reconciled their differences, and the king went outside. He found the hermit planting seeds in the
freshly turned garden. Again, the king
asked his three questions. The hermit
said, “But your questions have already been answered!”
“What do
you mean?” asked the king.
"Do
you not see," replied the hermit. "If you had not pitied my weakness
yesterday, and had not dug those beds for me, but had gone your way, that man
would have attacked you, and you would have repented of not having stayed with
me. So the most important time was when you were digging the beds; and I was
the most important person; and to do me good was your most important business.
Afterwards when that man ran to us, the most important time was when you were
attending to him, for if you had not bound up his wounds he would have died
without having made peace with you. So he was the most important person, and
what you did for him was your most important business. Remember then: there is
only one time that is important-- Now! It is the most important time because it
is the only time when we have any power. The most necessary person is the
person you are with, and the most important thing you can do is to do good for
the one you are with, because for that purpose alone were human beings sent
into this life!"
There is
a statement of faith called “The Shorter Catechism.” This document lists 107 questions and answers
which outline what we, as Christians, believe.
The first question is:
What is
the chief end of man? In other
words, why are we here? Why were we, as
Tolstoy puts it, “sent into this life?”
The
answer given in The Short Catechism is:
The chief
end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
Doing
good things for the one you are with makes God happy and glorifies God. I think doing good things for others makes us
pretty happy, too, don’t you?
Won't you pray with me?
Good and Gracious God, We give you thanks for each person here, and for those of our church family who could not be with us today. We ask that you help us all to do good things for the people in our lives, in our communities and in our world each and every day. Amen.
