Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about a pastor. The pastor had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and was then afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car he could bend the tree down enough to get the kitten. He did all this, checking his progress frequently. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree went "boing!" and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.
The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, "Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping," and went on about his business.
A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He was amazed to see she was buying cat food. Now this woman was a cat-hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?" She replied, "You won't believe this," and told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, "Well if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it." (Can you see where this is heading?)
She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her."
Never underestimate the Power of God!
I love the "boing!" part. I certainly don't want to underestimate the Power of God but I am not going to believe this one until I find out who this pastor is, where it happened, and when. Can Dwight come forward on this? Right now I have this classified as a probable Christian Urban Legend.
[Update - Dwight turns out to be a well-known Seventh Day Adventist preacher in Michigan. His associate wrote me and says he often uses "internet stories" tongue-in-cheek to make a point. Apparently the "tongue-in-cheek" aspect dropped out and it is circulating as "true." Other preachers have sent comments that this kind of illustration can be effective as long as you hint it could be a tall tale.]
A postscript - on May 18, 2001, I touched base with a "super pastor" friend in California. By "super pastor" I mean he had 7,000 out to his Easter service. I asked him if he had come across any great illustrations. He said there was one he had been sitting on for a year. When he finally used it, he got the biggest reaction of anything he has preached in two years. It was about a preacher and this kitten.... I give up. I can't win.
