Saturday, January 17, 2009

the enormous carrot

A fable about a king, a gardener and a nobleman by Tim Keller in The Prodigal God.

Once upon a time, there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. So he came to the palace, and said to his king “My lord, I’m a gardener, and this is the greatest carrot I’ve ever grown and ever hope to grow. Therefore, I am presenting it to you as a token of my love and respect.”

The king was touched and discerned the man’s heart. He said “I have a field that lies next to yours. I give this field to you so that you can farm it along with your own.” The gardener went home rejoicing.

A nobleman in the court overheard this and he thought to himself “A field for a carrot!” So, the next day, he came to the king with a magnificent stallion: “I breed horses,” he said “and this is the finest horse I have ever bred or ever will breed, so I am presenting it to you as a token of my love and respect.”

The king discerned his heart and said “Well, thank you very much.” The nobleman couldn’t hide his disappointment. So, the king said “Let me explain: The gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were giving yourself the horse.”

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