Story
Luke 14 opens at a Pharisee’s table where guests are eyeing the good chairs. Jesus tells them to take the lowest place, then tells…
Pride · Community · Humility
Luke 14
Story
The Gardener’s Carrot and the Nobleman’s Horse
Tim Keller – The Prodigal God
Keller tells of a gardener who grows an enormous carrot and presents it to the king purely as a token of love and respect. The king is so moved that he gives the gardener a large plot of land. A nobleman overhears this and thinks, “If that is what you get for a carrot, what if you gave something better?” The next day he presents the king with a magnificent black stallion. The king accepts it with a mere “thank you” and dismisses him. When the nobleman is confused, the king explains: “That gardener was giving *me* the carrot. You were giving *yourself* the horse.”
How you’d preach it
Sharp illustration of the difference between true generosity and giving that is still centered on self.
- Generosity
- Pride
- Love
Keller