Stone Soup's On

One of my favorite stories from childhood is the folk tale of Stone Soup. A poor man becomes hungry on a long journey and stops to fix himself a meal. He has no money to purchase the ingredients for a pot of soup and no one will share their food with him.

So he gets creative. He places a large stone in his pot with some water over the fire. As the water starts to boil, he sniffs at the steam, pretending it is the most delicious pot of soup ever.

At first those passing by scoff at the man. But finally one person stops to stare at the man and his pot of rocks. The man makes a show of tasting his soup and smacking his lips. “Ah such wonderful soup, but it would be even better with an onion.”

The passerby roots through his pockets and finds an onion which he contributes to the soup in exchange for a bowl when it is done. And so the story goes as another person stops, watches the traveller taste his soup and contributes another vegetable. Soon the soup fills the pot to overflowing and the wonderful aroma thrills the  travellers and the locals alike. It has become a feast they all can share.

Today, I thought about this story as I put a BIG pot of soup on the stove. It reminded me of the work Jesus does in our lives. He takes our hearts of stone and simmers them together with all of heaven’s good ingredients like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Soon He creates lives overflowing with His love – fragrant offerings which draw the spiritually starving people of the world to Himself. One thing about the Lord – He never does things in a small way. He wants to fill our lives so full of His goodness, that there’s plenty of His love to go around.

Truly, the best part of being a Christian, like making a big pot of soup, is sharing with friends and family. So come on over, there’s plenty to go around. But you might want to bring a loaf of bread or some dessert to make it taste even better LOL!