The Preacher, the Printer, and the Peddler - Pt 1

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 ESV). You may remember that I mentioned receiving a number of old articles written in The Community News in the mid-90’s by Mark Riley. All of them dealt with a modern proverb surrounding the comings and goings of three characters: the Preacher (me), the Printer (Greg Lamb), and the Peddler (Rick Hobbs). Reading them I thought they would make interesting thoughts for our devotionals. As Mark Riley recalls the story: Out on a magnificent body of Texas water, somewhere between El Paso and Texarkana, the Preacher, the Printer, and the Peddler were trolling along, boat loaded with every type of fishing gadget that is sold on television’s Home Shopping Network and the ice chest may have even been stocked with “ready to cook” fish, just in case they needed them, the printer convinced them. As they were having very little success, it is said that the preacher was busy trying to talk the fish out of the water, the printer was reading the instructions on the package of new lures he had just bought, and the peddler, well, no one knows for sure what he was doing. After a while a boat could be seen on the horizon heading straight for them. On board was everyone’s favorite Texas Game Warden. It was license check time. The preacher and the printer produced theirs first, and although the officer looked suspiciously at the color of paper used to print the license, he told the two they were OK. The peddler was asked about his license and replied, “I have a license, but it’s in my truck. The Game Warden questioned the peddler thoroughly, asking where he got it, how much he paid for it, the expiration date, and every angle he could think of. Finally he was convinced and did not write him a citation. Mark Riley further commented asking his readers if they remembered the movie, The Sting? The whole plot was based on the difference between reality and what was perceived to be reality. Having been there I’m wondering, as was Mark, if the warden had ever seen that movie! I know you are asking if that really happened. Well, like all Texas tales, there may have been a bit of stretching of the truth. As the Preacher I am, after all, allowed some ministerial exaggeration in the telling of a tale; although it is mighty close to the real story. The incredible thing is that it illustrates how easy it is to believe everything but the truth. In our reading today Jesus is very careful to explicitly describe for the disciples the only way to heaven. There aren’t a myriad of ways; in fact, there is only one way. That way is Jesus himself. There are no exceptions; there are no deviations; there are no other ways. Twenty years ago, or two thousand years ago, Jesus is the way. What path are you traveling today? Trust in him. You will not be left disappointed.