A young man presented himself to the local expert on gems and said he wanted to become a gemologist. The expert bushed him off because he feared the youth would not have the patience to learn. The young man pleaded for a chance. Finally, the expert consented and told the youth, “Be here tomorrow.”
The next morning the expert put a jade stone in the boy’s hand and told him to hold it. The expert then went about his work, cutting, weighing and setting gems. The boy sat quietly and waited. The following morning the expert again placed the jade stone in the youth’s hand and told him to hold it. On the third, fourth and fifth days, the expert repeated the exercise and the instructions.
On the sixth day, the youth held the jade stone, but he could no longer stand the silence. “Master, he asked, when am I going to learn something?”
“You will learn,” the expert replied and went about his business.
Several more days went by and the youth’s frustration mounted. One morning as the expert approached and beckoned for him to hold out his hand, he was about to blurt out that he could go on no longer. But as the master placed the stone in the youth’s hand, the young man exclaimed without looking at his hand, “This is not the same jade stone!”
“You have begun to learn,” said the master.
Experience is the Best Teacher
Even Moses had absolutely no confidence. And God even stopped the man’s stutter. It was experience that gave Moses confidence.
The Christian faith is a practical faith. God employs experience in order to teach us, to develop our abilities. And even then, He is more interested in the interaction He has with us in the process than He is in teaching us anything at all. God is not our boss, He is our Father. The whole world is an educational playground God is using to bring you toward perfection, to raise you as His own child.
It is very difficult for us Americans to believe in the God who guides us through educational experiences. Advertising teaches us that if we invest something, we get magical products that solve our problems. But God is more interested in being with us, than in entertaining us from a stage.
The truth is, if you do the work and gain the experience, you’ll have more confidence because you’ll actually know what you’re doing, and you will have spent some great time with God.
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