There's a Chinese tale about a young man who captured a tiger cub, brought it home, and raised it in a cage. When it was full grown, the man loved to brag about how ferocious and powerful it was. "That tiger isn't wild anymore," scoffed his friends. "He's as tame as an old house cat." This went on until a wise old man overheard them and said, "There's only one way to know whether this tiger is ferocious or not. Open the cage!" The young man smiled, placed his hand on the latch, and challenged his friends, "Want to try out my tiger?"

Many people view the gospel of Jesus Christ as a tame and powerless fantasy. Yet in 1 Corinthians 1:18 the apostle Paul called it "the power of God." He used the Greek word dunamis, which is the root for our word dynamite. Paul said that to an unbeliever the gospel is foolishness, but anyone who is willing to believe it will experience the "dynamite" of God. A tiger's strength, of course, is destructive and can bring death, but the power of the gospel always leads to life and freedom. It destroys guilt and breaks the stranglehold of sinful habits.

If we have experienced this power, let's challenge others to "try out our tiger."  — Joanie Yoder