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Topic: Learning for Life (08/23/04)
TITLE: DO NOT PASS By Kenny Paul Clarkson 08/23/04 |
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“Say what?”
“You were supposed to stop back there.”
Eb looked at Orville. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Your house is another half-mile up the highway.”
“The sign said to stop.”
Eb was confused. “You saw a stop sign?”
“No. But it still said to stop.”
The preacher tried to look at the twelve-year-old while keeping his eye on the road. He wondered if this was one of his jokes. “What sign was that?” he asked.
“It said 'Do Not Pass,' and you passed it.”
Without smiling the preacher blandly said, “Very funny, Orville."
Eb knew that his young companion was smart enough to understand the true meaning of the sign. He assumed – correctly – that Orville was trying to make some philosophical point. So he played along.
"'Do Not Pass' means don’t pass the vehicle in front of you. There’s a solid yellow line. You can’t pass.”
Eb slowed to a stop, turned on his left signal and waited for oncoming traffic.
“That’s just your interpretation,” Orville responded.
Eb was beginning to see Orville’s point. “So what’s that have to do with anything?”
The preacher turned into the St. James’ driveway and pulled to a stop.
The two popped open their respective doors and met at the back of the Blazer. Having dropped the tailgate, they slowly lifted Turpentine’s heavy, larthargic body and toted her to the St. James’ front porch.
“Poor dog looks like she’s in a trance,” Orville observed, while plopping himself onto the rickety porch swing. “I’ll feed her some real food. She’ll be her old self by morning and you can take her home tomorrow sometime, if you got the time.”
Then he added, “Gotta question for you Preacher.”
The pastor listened.
“Why do people interpret the Bible different ways. Did God say something, then leave it up for us to decide what He meant? Isn’t that as dumb as interpreting road signs to mean whatever you want them to mean?”
“Do Not Pass,” the preacher thought aloud, “could be interpreted two different ways. It could mean don’t pass other vehicles, or it could be interpreted to mean don’t pass this sign.”
“Both interpretations can’t be right,” Orville observed. “Isn’t that true of the Bible?”
Truly impressed with young Orville’s spiritual discernment, he thought it enigmatic that this was the same person who had been in the “hot seat” a few hours earlier for whopping Mrs. Hester with a paperclip.
Daringly, Eb sat on an old, worn sofa which Big Orville, Sr. had left on the porch.
“So what brings this up?” he asked.
Orville flicked a lady bug off his forearm, sending the beetle buzzing into the country air.
“Well, you know. If you interpret the Bible wrong, well, isn’t that like misinterpreting a road sign? Only maybe worse?” Orville questioned. “And what about people who don’t believe the Bible because they think there is no God. Aren’t they like people who would ignore road signs because they don’t believe there is a government?”
Realizing he had an opportunity for discipleship, the pastor decided to extend the conversation.
“Can you think of a time when you misunderstood something and, then, as a result, acted foolishly?” Eb suspected Orville would recount his morning fiasco with Mrs. Hester.
Instead, he said, “Sunday.”
Eb was surprised. “How’s that?”
“Well, Sunday morning before church I noticed ol’ Turpentine, here, wandering around the church parking lot, lookin’ like she was about to starve to death. Well, maybe not starve to death, but could use a little more to eat, anyhow.”
“So?” Orville had the pastor’s undivided attention.
“So, I snuck … is it ‘snuck’ or ‘sneaked’?” the preacher wasn’t sure, but he thought it was sneaked.
“Anyhow,” Orville continued, “I either snuck or sneaked out the side door during Buck’s prayer to find Turpentine and feed her.”
“That’s an act of compassion. But still not a wise thing to do. So what did you feed her?”
“My M&M’s,” Orville answered.
“Dog’s don’t eat chocolate,” the preacher observed. “They don’t like it.”
“Well, that one does,” he said pointing at Turpentine. “She ate the whole big bag.”
Eb looked at Turpentine with a renewed sense of sympathy. “No wonder the poor animal is sick!”