The King's Great Sacrifice - a fable

The city is buzzing with activity.  Shouts of "It's here!  It's here!" can be heard throughout the streets.  The boat bringing goods from a far off land has just sailed up to the dock.  This is not just any ordinary ship.  This ship appears to have the finest goods from lands both far and near.  People swarm the dock to get a glimpse of what might be on the ship to tempt their unsatisfied lives.  However, today, the ship is carrying a different type of cargo.  Today, the ship is full of slaves.  The Captain of the ship leads the slaves out on deck.  The people of the city line up to get a glimpse of these slaves.  They are all in bondage to the Captain for various reasons, some more serious than the others.  Most had been tricked into slavery by following the Captain as he led them astray.  They are murderers, thieves, liars, lovers of money, gossipers, slanderers, and idolaters.  The Captain of the ship has set the same price for them all. 

He leads the first slave up to the auction block.  "Who wants this slave?" the Captain asks.  "He's a hard worker, and does not require very much food."  The truth was that this slave was not a very hard worker,  lazy, and eats way too much food.  No one stepped up to claim him, for none could afford what the Captain wanted for him.

The next slave steps up to the auction block.  This one is a young woman.  She is thin, and does not look like she would be a very good worker.  Again, no one steps up to purchase her.  The next slave is an old man.  He is so weak he cannot stand.  The people from the city know that he would not be worth the price, even if the Captain did not want very much for him.  No one steps forward to claim him either.

One by one, the slave line up.  Old, young, feeble, weak, malnourished, too lazy to do any work.  There are some that might be able to do some work, but none that are worth the price that the Captain is asking.  The Captain looks throughout the crowd.  "Surely there is someone willing to purchase one of these slaves."  But there is none willing to pay the price.  No one wants to pay such a high price for a worthless slave.

Then, there is a stirring at the back of the crowd.  The people of the city start to whisper, "It's the King!  The King has come to purchase a slave!"  The King lived among the city people.  He came into their homes, spoke with them daily, and made sure that the citizens had everything that they needed. 

As the King comes forward, the crowd parts to let him through.  "How much are you wanting for these slaves?" he asks the Captain.  "Just a firstborn and only son" said the Captain, "and no one seems to want to pay that price.  But I've travelled a long way, and I cannot accept less than that."

The King then knew was he must do.  His beloved son, living in the castle in the hills above the city, must be given to save these slaves.  The King knew that the Captain would not carry these people any further, but that throw them into the sea to die.  So the King sent for his son, who went willingly with the Captain, so these slave would have a chance at life. 

As the Captain set sail with the King's son, the King took the slaves with him back into the city.  He cleaned them up, gave them the things that they needed, and then set them free.  He knew that none them would be able to do the things that his son did, but he wanted them to tell others about what his son had done for them.  He thought that they would be more willing to spread the word if he set them free.  Some were willing to tell others, but most just went on their way, doing what they had done before.

As the Captain sailed off with the King's son, he changed course to sail over shark-infested waters.  His plan had been to get the King's son all along, and then feed him to the sharks.  So as they sailed over the sharky waters, in went the King's son and down he went, into the deep dark recesses of the ocean.  And the Captain sailed on, looking for other people to trap into slavery.

But that is not the end of the story.  Three days after being thrown into the water, the King's son comes out of the ocean, and back into the Kingdom of his father, to live among the people there.  The Captain just thought that he had won....

The moral of this story?  There are none of us slaves that are worth the price that was paid for us. I have been struggling with the "I am an unprofitable servant" (refer back to earlier blog post) verse in the New Testament for weeks now.  I thought I had figured it out, but a new thought occurred to me this morning.  I am an unprofitable servant, because I can never do enough, or make enough to pay back the price that was paid for me.  There is nothing I can do that can equal the sacrifice of the King's one and only Son.  In my eyes, I am not worth the price that was paid for me.  But in the King's eyes, He loved me enough to give up His Son so that I might have life.  I just pray that I am one of the ones willing to spread the news so others can know about the wonderful thing that the King's son has done.

Hoarding in my emotional closet

So I am a big fan of hoarders.  Don't ask me why.  It just fascinates me how people can take items that many people would consider trash and want to hold onto them.  It's not very easy to understand why they would want to hold onto these items, but then they start telling about their lives and how they got to the point of holding onto everything.  Many of the items have some type of emotional connection to an earlier time in their lives or some loved one that they've lost.  When I hear their stories, it becomes a little easier to understand, this need to fill their lives with something other than what they have gone through in the past.

I think that I do the same thing with my emotional closet.  I have a lot of stuff buried that I drag out because I'm attached to them.  Some things I think I've gotten rid of and then find them again when I'm rearranging other things in my emotional closet.  So I have this 1,000 gallon garbage bag full of emotional that is stuck in my mind.  It may be huge but I do have the ability to hide it on occasion. 

Well, I uncovered it recently.  I have been digging through the bag for days.  Taking things out and putting them in a pile and then putting them back in the bag.  These are things that are really hard to hand over to God.  I think I'm speaking for Him in my mind and not sitting still and listening enough.  Well, I'm listening.  But I'm listening to the rats hiding in the closet and not the professional organizer waiting outside to help me clean the junk out.  So I'm gonna close now.  Apparently I have some house cleaning to do. 

Step back in time with me...

So I know that curiosity killed the proverbial cat, but sometimes I just have to search some things out.  After watching Jane Eyre recently and having seen Wuthering Heights before, I decided to look up the Bronte (and yes, I know there's supposed to be two little dots over that last E but the alt+number thing doesn't work on my computer and I don't know how to do it otherwise) sisters and see what their life was like, since the aforementioned novels contained such sadness at the beginning.  To my surprise, I discovered a third novelistic sister, Anne.  She was the author of a novel named Agnes Grey.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Parts of the Agnes' thoughts were like taking thoughts right out of my own head.  I'll share a couple with you below. 

I wondered why so much beauty should be given to those who made so bad a use of it, and denied to some who would make it a benefit to both themselves and to others.

We all have some thoughts that all the angels in heaven are welcome to behold, but not our brother-men - not even the best and kindest among them. 

By His help I will arise and address myself to my appointed duty.  If happiness in this world is not for me, I will endeavour to promote the welfare of those around me, and my reward shall be hereafter - so I said in my heart.

What business had I to think so much of one that  never thought of me?

And my favorite:

We have had trials, and I know that we must have them again; but we bear them well together, and endeavour to fortify ourselves and each other against the final separation - that greatest of all afflictions to the survivor.  But, if we keep in mind the glorious heaven beyond, were both may meet again, and sin and sorrow are unknown, surely that too may be borne, and meantime, we endeavour to live to the glory of Him who has scattered so many blessings in our path. 

So maybe I went a little overboard with the quotes, but I really identified with Agnes.  At one point in the novel, she is praying that God's will be done, then she's adding "All things are possible with God and let it be your will" to it, and finally "God, it's not just for me."  I feel that way sometimes, not sure if something I'm praying for is in God's will but knowing that He can do anything, even the things that seem impossible to us.  As big a thing as that is to wrap our human minds around, that's the part where faith comes in, it is the substance of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1).  And on that note I'll say good night.  Agnes got her happy ending, maybe I need to be praying more about mine.

And now I think I have said sufficient.