I’d like to share a parable with you. There is a certain Father who has two daughters. Actually this Father has a great many other daughters and sons as well. But for the sake of our story we’ll simply talk about these two girls. At a very young age the Father knew the children needed to live in a certain place in the world, far from their true home. He has a plan for these girls whom He loves and He wants them to discover their purpose for being. The Father sent his beloved children a great distance away from Him, to a place called McCreary County Kentucky, but He actually remains very close to them, able and willing to come alongside them in a moment of great need.
While both of these women come from the same extremely prosperous family, neither of them currently possesses much material wealth. When of age, they each took a husband, both men laboring at the same type of work, cutting timber. The younger girl found herself longing for her true home and she stayed in constant communication with her Father. The older one never called upon Him. In fact, she never even thought of Him and over time she even began to deny the fact that He cared for her at all. The Father stood ever-ready to step into His children’s lives and supply their needs if they would only call upon Him, but He refrained from forcing Himself on the girls. The struggles of life began wearing on both of these women. The younger girl called upon her Father frequently for advice and counsel but her husband- a hard working man- wanted to be self-sufficient in this life and never looked to the girl’s Father for help. However, the older daughter steadfastly refused to follow her sister’s example, and her husband did likewise.
The weather in McCreary County is quite changeable and everyone living there is in need of adequate protection from the elements. Both girls and their husbands tried to build themselves comfortable dwellings. The younger daughter established her home in an old house trailer which was very small and afforded only the most basic of protection. She then applied herself to building a more substantial home nearby, purchasing material for the construction as she was able to. She believed that, from time to time, her Father would send people with lumber and other items she needed. The older daughter moved into a large established house, failing to recognize that her Father had actually supplied it for her.
The younger girl continued to live in her dingy little trailer, all the while thanking her Father for the material He kept sending her way. The older girl developed a very serious health issue and had to be hospitalized for a lengthy time. When she and her husband returned from the hospital to their home they found nothing but a smoldering heap of ashes. An electrical fire had consumed their dwelling, leaving them homeless. Her husband found an old house trailer, not unlike her sister’s, and moved it over the still smoking remains of their former home. They sat and complained of their misfortune but their thoughts never turned toward the girl’s Father.
One day the Father was speaking to one of His servants- He had a great many devoted to His purposes- and He asked this man to contact His two daughters and share a message of His Love for them. This servant is the leader of a small group of carpenters, skilled in the building of houses. He visited with the girls at their respective homes and reminded them of their Father’s Love for them. The younger daughter was always overjoyed to talk about her Father, even though her husband doubted the intensity of His Love. But the older girl simply acknowledged the carpenter’s presence and commented on how nice it would be to have some repairs made to her deteriorating trailer. When her Father’s Name was mentioned she simply turned away from the discussion.
At this point the carpenter was faced with a decision. Which of the Father’s two daughters should he really help? The younger girl is happy and believing that one day her little dream home will be completed. Actually she mentioned to the carpenter that she would rather that her husband would see the reality of her Father’s Love for him, even before spending a night in a new home. The older daughter simply wants to have her needs met and tolerates any discussion of her True Father for the sake of her personal gain.
What should the servant carpenter do? The answer, of course, is to do exactly what the Father desires for His children. He needs to respond, in love, to both of the daughter’s needs. The younger girl deserves to see her faithfulness rewarded. The older one needs to see the Father’s Love manifested before her very eyes, so plainly that she is forced to reconsider His Place in her, and her husband’s life.
This is not simply an isolated parable. Every day, here in the hills and hollers, we encounter people in similar situations. The story I just shared is very real and this summer several visiting mission teams will have opportunity to enter the parable and be an agent of the Father’s Love… to a most faithful daughter, and to a most skeptical (at best) one. Please begin to pray for miracles to happen because of obedience of the visiting missionaries to the Father’s Purpose. Wood, metal and plastic will be used to create a suitable living environment, but the real purpose of this ministry is precisely what the Father sends His servants out to proclaim every day… a message of His Deep Abiding Love for all that will acknowledge Him as their One True Father, through the Ultimate Gift of Jesus Christ!
