You remember the story: two weary travelers arrive in a town hoping to find sustenance and rest only to be snubbed by mean and stingy townspeople. Not to be deterred, the clever fellows set about making a pot of “stone soup” beginning with a simple stone in boiling water. By and by they manipulate the curiosity of the townspeople so that each member of the town eventually contributes some key ingredient. In the end everyone, including the creative travelers, enjoys a bowl of the best soup they have ever tasted.
This weekend, I shared this simple story with my congregation and applied it in the context of 1 Corithians 12 & 13. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul delineates a long list of “gifts” or talents held by the individuals of the church. He even goes so far as to prioritize them. But, at the end of the chapter, he says, “and yet I show unto you a more excellent way.” What follows is 1 Corinthians chapter 13 which has been called the crown jewel of the New Testament, also known as the “Love Chapter.”
Here’s how the two ideas came together: our churches should be soup pots with a soup base made from the stone of love. Without love, people will not be drawn together to share what they possess in order to make something spectacular. However, once genuine, sacrificial, Christ-like, servant love is added to the pot, something grand will be permitted to happen. Whether others are drawn by curiosity, contempt, or conviction, when they experience genuine caring and love, they will often want to be a part of this “bigger something” beyond themselves.
At that point they will have the opportunity to surrender themselves to God and begin to contribute in word and work to the overall good of the “stew.” When all of the gifts and talents of individuals are freely given in the context of Christ-like love, a church can “boil along” quite merrily and leave a good taste behind for a change!
How about you? Are you helping to make your church a “Stone Soup Church?”
