FAITH
OF LITTLE MARY
Joseph H. Dean
The father, a well digger, strong was he,
And as loving and kind as a father could be.
And Mary, his daughter, five years old,
Was
very much dearer than millions of gold.
To
Mary her father was big, grand, and nice,
So
each had a treasure, beyond any price.
One day to the well,
little Mary was sent,
To take daddy’s lunch, how
gladly she went.
But
when she looked down, not a thing could be seen,
The
well, like a pocket, was dark as could be.
The father saw Mary and heard her voice, too,
But made not a sound, just to see what
she’d do.
She dropped to her knees, the dear little soul,
And called down, “Oh, Daddy, are you
down in this hole?”
“Why, yes, Mary darling, I’m here at
your feet,
Just drop my lunch for I’m ready to eat.
Just let it go easy, I’ll catch it alright.”
She did, and she saw it fall out of sight.
“Why Mary,” said father, “there’s enough here
for two,
Now
this is the thing I would like you to do.
You jump down here to me, and we’ll eat it
together,
Down here in the cool, and away from the
weather.”
“Oh. Daddy, I’m
afraid, I can’t see you at all,
Be sure now you catch me, and don’t let me
fall.”
‘Twas just for a moment she wavered in doubt,
Then closing her dear little eyes she jumped out.
In the darkness, yes, that was the test,
She trusted in faith in her father’s request.
And
both were so happy he kissed her and smiled,
Because
of the sweet trusting faith of his child.
“Oh, sweet little Mary,
you put me to shame,
How often my Father has
called me the same.
But because it was
dark, I turned back in doubt,
Refusing the call, though his arms were
stretched out.”
THE POWER OF
FAITH
My father was a traveling salesman. One time,
he sold furniture,
Another time hardware, sometimes leather goods. He
changed his line every year. I would hear him tell my mother that it was his last
trip in stationery or in bed lamps or in whatever he was selling at the moment.
Next
year, everything would be different. We would be on easy street for he now had
a product that sold itself. It was always the same.
He was
always tense, always afraid of himself, always whistling in the dark. My poor
father never had a product that sold. Lovable man that he was inept and full of
mistakes.
Then one
day, a fellow salesman gave my father a copy of a three-sentence prayer. He was
told to repeat this prayer just before calling on a customer. My father, who
believed in the Lord, tried it, and the results were wonderful.
This is
the prayer:
“I
believe I am always divinely guided.
I
believe I will always be led to take the right turn in the road.
I
believe that God will always make a way where there is no way.”- Norman Vincent
Peale –
FAITH IS NOT BELIEVING THAT GOD CAN’T.
IT IS KNOWING THAT HE WILL.
OUR FAITH HIS
POWER
This is a true story of something that happened just a
few years ago at USC. There was a professor of philosophy there who was a
deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend
the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn’t exist. His students
were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic.
For twenty years, he had taught this class and no one
had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at
times, but no one had ever really gone against him because of his reputation.
On the last day of every semester, the professor would
say to his class of 300 students, “If there is anyone here who still believes
in Jesus, stand up” In twenty years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what
he was going to do next. He would say, “Because anyone who believes in God is a
fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground
and breaking. Such a simple task to prove that He is God, and yet He can’t do
it.” And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the
classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. The students wouldn’t do
anything but stop and stare. Most of the students thought that God couldn’t
exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for twenty
years, they had been too afraid to stand up.
Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened
to enroll. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about this professor.
He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But, for
three months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the
courage to stand up no matter what the professor said or what the class
thought. Nothing they said could ever shatter his faith…he hoped.
Finally, the day came. The professor said, “If there is
anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!” As the freshman stood up at
the back of the classroom, the professor and the class of 300 students looked
at him, shocked. The professor shouted, You FOOL!!! If God existed, he would
keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!” He proceeded to
drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt
cuff, onto the pleat of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe.
As the chalk hit the ground, it simply rolled away
unbroken. The professor’s jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up
at the young man, and then ran out of the lecture hall. The young man who had
stood proceeded to walk to the front of the room where he shared his faith in
Jesus for the next half hour. Three hundred students stayed and listened as he
told of God’s love for them and of His power through Jesus.
