May I tell you a story! .....

A builder once made a house and created a beautiful ceiling in it. The ceiling was wonderful but simple. It was made from three ingredients only. Sand, cement and water! But nevertheless it was perfect in form and function.

Next the builder added hooks on the ceiling from which to hang some lamps. There were 621 lamps in all, with 10 lamps on slightly longer chains than the others. These hung down lower than the others and were more ornate, so as a result they were more prominent.

He invited people to come to his home and stay with him, and everyone admired the ceiling, and especially those ten ornate lamps.

People would stare at them and into them, and loose all sense of where they were in admiration. He would tell people how carefully he had hung the lamps from the ceiling, and how strong the anchors were in it, but people concentrated on the lamps so much that often they lost sight of the ceiling altogether. It was more as though the ceiling was being held up by the lamps, rather than the other way round.

One day he took down all the lamps, and let the beauty of the ceiling with it’s flush lighting shine forth. Some people said, "Why was this hidden from our view for so long?", while others said "What's happened to the lamps we came to see? They made the room what it was!". And some just stared at the old lamps stacked carefully in the corner, unable to believe what they were seeing!

The builder then said to them, "What I wanted you to see was the beauty and strength that was in the ceiling. The lamps were meant to illuminate it! Now look at the carving in the ceiling. It's made of the same materials, and tells you what it is."

They all looked and saw the writing carved in the ceiling. It said.

"These are my ingredients.

The first is - 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind"

The second is – "Love one another, even as I have loved you "

The third is - The Holy Spirit, which binds all to all!

When they had read it the builder said, ......r “They provide the perfect light for all to see by!”