The No-Feed Horse

"How much do horses eat?" asked Jared as he and his Uncle Bill walked through the horse barn. "A lot!" Uncle Bill replied. "It's a good thing we can put them out to pasture every day." He grinned. "Did I ever tell you about the no-feed horse?""No. What's a no-feed horse?" asked Jared."Well, I heard about a fella who figured out how to raise a horse that didn't need to eat," Uncle Bill explained. "Just imagine the money he would save!"Jared gave his uncle a confused look. "A horse that doesn't eat? How is that possible?""This guy started out by reducing the horse's feed by an ounce a day," said Uncle Bill. "Then he reduced it by two ounces, and then three ounces, and so on. He did that until the horse was getting by on almost no food at all.""Wow!" said Jared. "Then what happened?""Well, that's the sad part," said Uncle Bill. "One day the horse up and died."For a moment, Jared stared at his uncle, open-mouthed. Then he saw his uncle grin, and he realized Uncle Bill was just teasing. "Uncle Bill! You're kidding me!" Uncle Bill laughed heartily. "Yep, I reckon I am. But I really have known some fellas who were almost as foolish as that rancher. They always tried to get by with feeding their livestock as little as possible. Then they'd wonder why their cattle didn't grow like they should." Uncle Bill tugged on his hat thoughtfully. "I've known some Christians like that too," he added. "I was even like that myself for a time. I started off reading my Bible and praying and going to church regularly. Then I tapered off--I was just so busy with things on the farm, see. It took me a while to realize that my soul wasn't being fed and my spiritual life was suffering. I needed that time with Jesus and His people so He could fill me with His peace and remind me of His presence.""Wow," said Jared. "I never considered going to church or reading my Bible to be just as important as eating food!"Uncle Bill smiled at him. "Don't ever forget that your soul needs to be fed just like your stomach does." –Sherry L. Kuyt