I found this little gem of a question in a preaching journal I read called Homiletics. What do you think?
The Book of Heroic Failures contains a story about a 1978 strike of British firefighters, when the army filled the gap. One afternoon, the replacement firefighters got a call to rescue a cat caught high in a tree. The soldiers rushed to the scene, put up a ladder, brought down the cat and gave it back to the owner. The woman was so grateful that she invited them in for tea, an invitation they accepted. After a wonderful time, they said goodbye, got in the truck and backed away — over the cat.
Which prompts the question, “Could that rescue mission really be considered a success?”
—Adapted from George Sanchez, “How to succeed God’s way,” Discipleship Journal (Sept./Oct. 1983).
