"The Woodcutter's Wisdom"

In his book, "In the Eye of the Storm," Max Lucado tells the following story:

Once there was an old woodcutter who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before - such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength. People even offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused.

One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone would steal your horse. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal. Now the horse is gone, and you've been cursed with misfortune."

The old man responded, "Don't speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can't say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?" The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn't been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. "Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us."

The man responded, "Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don't judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? Don't say that this is a blessing. No one knows."

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgements. "You were right," they said. "You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse."

The old man spoke again, "You people are obsessed with judging, yet you see only a fragment. You read only one page of a book. Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase? Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows."

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured. Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. "You were right, old man," they wept. "God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son's accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever."

"The old man spoke again. "It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows."

We are quick to judge, aren't we? Wouldn't it be nice though, to instead be wise like the old man of this story? And to learn to live life then with an understanding that right now is just a small fragment, just one page in the elaborate story of our lives. Can you imagine the anxiety and worry, the emotional turmoil, the constant ups and downs this would save us from? Like me, maybe you've lived out this roller coaster routine of the villagers: "Yeah! It's a blessing!" "No! It's a curse" ... "Oh joy! It's all good!" "Oh boy! It's all bad!" Back and forth we go, over and over again. Are you kidding me? Why in the world do we choose to live like that when instead we could live life with a "We'll withhold judgment until this chapter is completed" response?

In fact, how about something even better ... how about a response of faith. In Romans 8:28, the Author of Scripture, who coincidentally happens to be the Author of your life story as well, tells us that "all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans." You see, you don't have to live life wondering or even waiting ... in faith, you can have confidence right now that the end result of every situation and every circumstance in your life is always and only good in Christ!

In the story that is your life ... I don't know what page you're on; I don't know what problem you're facing or conflict your enduring; I don't know what's going to happen next. In fact, truth be told, I don't know any of the in between stuff ... but I do know the end, and it's going to be good!

Be wise like the old woodcutter ... and why not go ahead and encourage someone in your "village" that it's too soon to give up, that there's still the rest of the story to be written ... that the good part, even the best part, is still to come!