Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac . I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day . So grab your cup of coffee , sit back , relax and let me help you start your day right . I want to tell you a great story this morning about Ben Hooper .
It comes from Brian Harber's book Rising Above the Crowd . You see , when Ben Hooper was born many , many years ago in the foothills of East Tennessee , little boys and girls like Ben , who were born to unwed mothers , were ostracized and treated absolutely terrible . By the time he was three years old , the other children would scarcely play with him .
Parents were saying idiotic things like what's a boy like that doing playing with our children , as if the child had anything to do with his own birth . Saturday was the toughest day of all . Ben's mom would take him down to the general store to buy their supplies for the week .
Invariably the other parents in the store would make caustic remarks just loudly enough for both mother and child to hear , Comments like did you ever figure out who his daddy is ? That is a very tough , tough childhood . In those days there was no kindergarten , so at age six , little Ben entered the first grade was no kindergarten .
So at age six little Ben entered the first grade . He was given his own desk , as were all the children At recess . He stayed at that little desk and studied because none of the other children would play with him . At noon little Ben could be found eating his sack lunch all alone .
The happy chatter of the children who were shunning him was barely audible from where he sat . It was a big event when anything changed in the foothills of East Tennessee , and when little Ben was 12 years old , a new preacher came to pastor the little church in Ben's town .
Almost immediately Ben started hearing exciting things about this new pastor , about how loving and nonjudgmental he was , how he accepted people just as they were , and when he was with them he made them feel like the most important people in the world . It was reported that this preacher had tremendous charisma .
When he walked into a group of any size anywhere , the entire complexion of that group changed . Their smiles broadened , their laughter increased and their spirits rose . One Sunday , though he had never been to church a day in his life , little Ben Hooper decided he was going to go and hear this new preacher .
He got there late and left early because he did not want to attract any attention . But he liked what he heard and for the first time in that young boy's life he caught just a glimmer of hope . Ben was back in church next Sunday and the next Sunday and the next . He always got there late and always left early , but his hope was building every Sunday .
On about the sixth or seventh Sunday . The message was so moving and exciting that Ben became absolutely enthralled with it . It was almost as if there was a sign behind the preacher's head that said For you , little Ben Hooper of unknown parentage , there is hope .
Ben got so wrapped up in the message he forgot about the time and didn't notice that a number of people had come in after he had taken the seat . Suddenly , the service was over . Ben very quickly stood up to leave , as he always had in Sunday's pass , but the aisles were clogged with people and he could not run out .
As he was working his way through the crowd he felt a hand on his shoulder . He turned around and looked up right into the eyes of the young preacher , who asked him a question that had been on the mind of every person there for the last twelve years "'Whose boy are you' he said . Instantly , the church grew deathly quiet .
Slowly , a smile spread across the face of the young preacher until it broke into a huge grin and he exclaimed oh , I know whose boy you are . Why the family resemblance is unmistakable you , my boy , are a child of God . And with that , the young preacher swatted him across the rear end and said now , that's quite a heritage . You've got there , boy .
Now go and see to it that you live up to it . Isn't that a great story . In the view of eternity , it really doesn't matter who your earthly parents are , because when we give our lives to Christ , we have a new father , a heavenly father who loves us more than anyone on this earth ever could .
We have a new Father , a Heavenly Father , who loves us more than anyone on this earth ever could , and we have a new family , a family who are just like we are .
They come from imperfect backgrounds , with all kinds of problems and all kinds of challenges , and yet , by the grace of God , they have been saved and become a part of God's eternal family , with God as our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ at our side at all times .
Isn't that good to know , and I encourage you to remind yourself of that when you're feeling lonely and maybe wondering if anybody loves you or accepts you . God always does . Have a great day , my friends . We will talk again tomorrow .
Thank you for joining us today , and I invite you to join us every Monday to Friday , right here at Starting Right , with Danny Mac .