THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

   In the Middle Ages there was a legend that somewhere in the New World was a “Fountain of Youth.” If old men drank from it, it made them young again.

   No one has ever found a fountain with such miraculous waters. But roundabout us is a “Fountain of Youth” which few recognize. The real Fountain of Youth is a useful work.

   Some people who retire prematurely age faster in their idleness than they ever did in full-time employment. Nothing is more boring and tiresome than not having work to do when one is still young enough to need its stimulation.

   Too many people associate purposeful work with profitable work. They cannot interest themselves in any kind of occupation unless someone is willing to

WHY HEAVEN IS SO FAR AWAY

This story comes from Ghana in Africa. It says that way back in the beginning, heaven was so near to earth that a housewife who was crushing her sweet potatoes into a pulp by hammering them with end of a long pole, kept poking the pole into the bottom of heaven.
God, who lived up there, was not happy with the disturbance. So he complained to the good lady. But she paid no attention at all and kept right on mashing her sweet potatoes and prodding into the bottom of heaven.

So the Lord got angry and shouted down her, “Because you humans don’t appreciate my nearness, I’m going to rise so high in the sky that none of you will ever be able to reach me.”
That is the African explanation of why we spend our lives trying to get to heaven and it always seems to be so far away.
Come to think of it, though, maybe we’re looking in the wrong places. According to the scriptures, the kingdom of heaven is within us. What a perfect place to hide it: very few people look inside.

TREASURE IN HEAVEN

A wealthy man lay on his deathbed. His entire life had been centered on money. As his life ebbed away, he presume that afterlife, money would also be everything. So he gave orders that a purse filled with gold coins be placed inside his casket alongside his body. His last wish was carried out.

In the next world it took the bookkeepers a long time to find his name in any of the good books. In fact it took so long that he got very hungry and thirsty just waiting. He looked around and sure enough, he saw an attractive eatery not far away. “Aha,” he said to himself, “it’s just like I thought. It’s a good thing that I brought some money along with me.”

His mouth was already watering as he approached the restaurant. But before he sat down to eat, he was told that the money he had brought along had no value now. In fact, only the money that was of any value now was the money he had given away on earth. The rich man dropped his head in deep thought, but could not remember having given any money away…so now he had none.