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.