A Persian Fable

"A Persian fable says: One day

A wanderer found a lump of clay

So savory of sweet perfume

Its odor scented all the room.

'What are you?'  was his quick demand,

'Are you some gem from Samarkand,

Or pure nard in this plain disguise,

Or other costly merchandise?'

'No, I am but a lump of clay.'

'Then whence this wondrous perfume--say!'

'Friend, if the secret I disclose, 

I have been dwelling with the rose.'

Sweet parable!  and will not those

Who love to dwell with Sharon's rose,

Distill sweet odors all around,

Though low and poor themselves are found?

Dear Lord, abide with us that we

May draw our perfume fresh from Thee."

-quoted from Streams in the Desert

Inner Resources ~By Frances J. Roberts



Today is a new day; His limitless grace and inexhaustible mercy are yours.
Take them, SHINE, and then spend your all giving it away!

Never allow circumstances to frighten you, My child. You are not defeated by outer circumstances, but by inner weakness. Whenever you are challenged, look not at the magnitude of the problem, but examine your inner resources. Out of the abundance of My Spirit within you shall come the necessary strength to meet the demand; nothing shall confront you that is greater than My grace.

It is easy to walk in the Spirit, because to do so implies the flow of My life through your heart, your mind, your actions, and your speech. It is the life of Christ made manifest. It is the new creature displacing the old. It is the kingdom of God evidenced where once reigned the kingdom of self. It is love supplanting hatred, and righteousness triumphing over evil. It is hope, joy, and peace. It is kindness, tolerance, and understanding.

To move in love is to move in power, and the deeper the love, the more effective its action upon the total personality.

 

On a morning damp with dew

In a garden silent and still,

The statue said to the bird,

"Oh, if only I were real.

I would smell the blossoms and hear the wind

And feel the warmth of noon.  

I would taste the rain and sing with bees

And rest under the moon.

I would see the sun arrive each day

To bathe the garden in light.

I would touch the velvet of a rose

And envy the birds their flight.

I would cool in the shade of the massive tree

Whose arms I'm sitting under,

And know the God who made all this

And stop and think and wonder...

Why He would put me among such life

Yet make me so cold and still?

What don't I have?  What's not here?

Why am I not real?"

The little bird couldn't talk.

In pity he hung his head,

Then soared above the statue and thought

Just what he would have said...

"To accept Pure Love then give it out,

Unmeasured, no effort, no will,

Unrequested, undeserved, just given

Is all that makes you real."

Lisa Williams Coggin

Lisa Williams Coggin is a missionary to Northern Uganda.  She and her husband, Keith, are the founders of Sanctuary of Grace Christian School.  Sanctuary of Grace Christian School is supported by Far Reaching Ministries.