Parable of the Long Spoons

Dale Dodrill from Keezletown UMC shared this story with me.  The original story was written by Sofo Archon.

One day a man said to God, “God, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.” God showed the man two doors.  Inside the first one, in the middle of the room, was a large round table with a large pot of vegetable stew.  It smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.  They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.  The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.  God said, “You have seen Hell.” Behind the second door, the room appeared exactly the same. There was a large round table with the large pot of wonderful vegetable stew that made the man’s mouth water.  The people had the same long-handled spoons, but they were well nourished and plumb, laughing and talking.  The man said, “I don’t understand.”  God smiled.  “It is simple,” he said, “Love.” These people learned early on to share and feed one another, while the greedy only think of themselves.

During this Lenten Season, we need to reach out in love to our neighbors and friends. We need to be “patient and kind and to not be self-seeking”. This Easter Season will have a new and vital impact on our lives and the ones around us as we learn to love.

Prayer:  Lord, forgive us for being selfish. Teach us how to share and feed one another. Amen.

I Corinthians 13: 4 – 7 :  Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.