| One of God's Children |
A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in
Gatlinburg, TN.
One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little
restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While
they were waiting for their food, they noticed a
distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from
table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor
leaned over and whispered to his wife, 'I hope he
doesn't come over here.' But sure enough, the man did
come over to their table.
'Where are you folks from?' he asked in a friendly voice.
'Oklahoma ,' they answered.
'Great to have you here in Tennessee,' the stranger
said. 'What do you do for a living?'
'I teach at a seminary,' he replied.
'Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you?
Well, I've got a really great story for you.' And with that,
the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the
table with the couple.
The professor groaned and thought to himself, 'Great.
Just what I need ...another preacher story!'
The man started, 'See that mountain over there?
(pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the
base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an
unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up,
because every place he went, he was always asked the
same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?' Whether
he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store,
people would ask the same question, 'Who's your
daddy?'
He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other
students. He would avoid going into stores because
that question hurt him so bad. 'When he was about 12
years old, a new preacher came to his church. He
would always go in late and slip out early to avoid
hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day,
the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he
got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.
Just about the time he got to the back door, the new
preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand
on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your
daddy?'
The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every
eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would
finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your
daddy?'
'This new preacher, though, sensed the situation
around him and using discernment that only the Holy
Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little
boy.. 'Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the
family resemblance now. You are a child of God.'
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said,
'Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.'
'With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time
and walked out the door a changed person. He was
never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him,
'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a Child of
God.''
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and
said, 'Isn't that a great story?' The professor responded
that it really was a great story! As the man turned to
leave, he said, 'You know, if that new preacher hadn't
told me that I was one of God's children, I probably
never would have amounted to anything!' And he
walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. H e
called the waitress over & asked her, 'Do you know
who that man was -- the one who just left that was
sitting at our table?'
The waitress grinned and said, 'Of course. Everybody
here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former
governor of Tennessee !'
Gatlinburg, TN.
One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little
restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While
they were waiting for their food, they noticed a
distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from
table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor
leaned over and whispered to his wife, 'I hope he
doesn't come over here.' But sure enough, the man did
come over to their table.
'Where are you folks from?' he asked in a friendly voice.
'Oklahoma ,' they answered.
'Great to have you here in Tennessee,' the stranger
said. 'What do you do for a living?'
'I teach at a seminary,' he replied.
'Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you?
Well, I've got a really great story for you.' And with that,
the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the
table with the couple.
The professor groaned and thought to himself, 'Great.
Just what I need ...another preacher story!'
The man started, 'See that mountain over there?
(pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the
base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an
unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up,
because every place he went, he was always asked the
same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?' Whether
he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store,
people would ask the same question, 'Who's your
daddy?'
He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other
students. He would avoid going into stores because
that question hurt him so bad. 'When he was about 12
years old, a new preacher came to his church. He
would always go in late and slip out early to avoid
hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day,
the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he
got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.
Just about the time he got to the back door, the new
preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand
on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your
daddy?'
The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every
eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would
finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your
daddy?'
'This new preacher, though, sensed the situation
around him and using discernment that only the Holy
Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little
boy.. 'Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the
family resemblance now. You are a child of God.'
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said,
'Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.'
'With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time
and walked out the door a changed person. He was
never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him,
'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a Child of
God.''
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and
said, 'Isn't that a great story?' The professor responded
that it really was a great story! As the man turned to
leave, he said, 'You know, if that new preacher hadn't
told me that I was one of God's children, I probably
never would have amounted to anything!' And he
walked away.
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. H e
called the waitress over & asked her, 'Do you know
who that man was -- the one who just left that was
sitting at our table?'
The waitress grinned and said, 'Of course. Everybody
here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former
governor of Tennessee !'
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