Emphasis Preaching Journal

T. E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, brought with him several Arab chieftains to the Paris Peace Conference after World War I. The Arab leaders underwent a kind of cultural shock observing the technological innovations of western civilization. One of the most amazing novelties was running water in their hotel rooms. They knew from their experiences in the desert how precious water was, and yet here they could obtain water by simply turning on the faucet.

When the Arab chieftains were about to leave for home, one day Lawrence came upon them trying to dismantle the faucets so that they might take them to the desert where they would have an endless supply of water. Their friend tried to tell them that huge reservoirs of water really provided the water; the faucets were only instruments bringing the water from the reservoirs. The Arabs were not convinced; they insisted that the faucets would give them an inexhaustible supply of water.

In our study of the scriptures with all its rich wisdom, we sometimes forget that the source of all such wisdom is God. And the truth of the matter is that we are not apt to understand what we read unless we pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us and disclose the meaning of the words.