“What About Them Seven Ducks?”
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesI couldn’t resist this duck story, which happens to be true:
One told of this brother in the church, a carpenter, who was an unlearned man, without any formal education. His employer took the job of building a denominational meeting-house, and the denominational preacher, knowing of the man’s lack of formal education, delighted in making himself seen around the building, and in particular picking at the man, knowing him to be one of those “church of Christers.”
One day, the denominational preacher was speaking of his man-made doctrine of salvation by “faith only.” As he was making his point, the brother-in-Christ spoke up, “But how about them seven ducks?” Everyone thought he had missed the entire point under discussion, and the denominational preacher didn’t know what he meant at all. He went on to explain how that Naaman, to obtain cleansing, was told to go “duck” in the Jordan River seven times! “Them seven ducks” meant that obedience to God’s will was required, and therefore faith “only” was a false doctrine!
This good brother never claimed to be a preacher or teacher, and never would he claim that he was a “smart” man. But he stopped the mouth of a false teacher, showing him how SEVEN DUCKS entered the picture! He was unlearned, but he had the courage and wisdom to say, “But how about them seven ducks?”
Via Alton Hayes, Munford, AL
THE SOUTHWESTERNER, April 26, 1989