Enrico Bodoni sat down in a pizza restaurant one day, an establishment operated by two of his sons. When the pizza entrepreneurs heard he was there, they prepared their best Pepperoni Special and sent it to their father's table. But soon the word filtered back to the kitchen that Mr. Bodoni was not touching his pizza.
The Bodoni brothers were astounded and marched out to the table. "Papa, we noticed you're not eating your pizza."
"No, I suppose I'm not," was the even reply.
"Bodoni Brothers' pizza is the best pizza in town," said the pizza men. "Everyone says so."
"I've heard that around the neighborhood," said their father.
"We put a lot of time and effort into that pizza."
"I know."
"The ingredients were really expensive."
"So I see."
The pizza chefs leaned in closer to the table. "Papa, you're embarrassing us. You know, sitting here in front of all our other customers, and not touching your pizza."
"Sorry."
Finally, the brothers threw up their hands in exasperation. "So, why aren't you eating your pizza?"
"I don't like pizza. Never have."
The brothers Bodoni were flabbergasted. "What do mean you don't like pizza? Of course you like pizza! You come in here all the time! If you didn't like pizza, why would you come to a pizza restaurant?"
The father replied kindly, "I don't come in here because I like pizza. I come in here because I like you."
Moral: Never mistake God's presence for His purposes. As many discover the manifest presence of God in their lives, there is a human tendency to correlate God's presence with some effort of their own. "We must be doing God's will; just look at how he is blessing us!" This is sort of like the fellow who thought the wind picked up because he put up a windmill. God's blessings are part of God's love for His children. In this He never leaves us. But we can only walk in God's kingdom purposes by the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. And His purposes are equally real in the "valley of the shadow of death" as they are "beside still waters".
