Story
1 – Good Shephard
In the Kingdom of the Lord, everyone
is given their job by the King.
One boy was so excited to finally
serve that he went straight up to the King with a smile on his face, bowed down
on both knees, and said, “I am ready to serve you, my King.”
His parents and the rest of the children
there were shocked at the boy’s display, but not the King. The King gave him a blessing
in silence, handed him his pitchfork for his job as a farmer and hugged him
before sending him off. The boy became a marvelous worker as a farmer and one
of the best. He joyfully did his job day in and out as every piece of work,
every action that he did was for the King. For his services, the King graciously
rewarded the boy with whatever his heart desired.
When asked for what he wanted, the
boy said, “I want to faithfully serve you for all eternity. Please make it so I
can do this.”
Moved by his request, the King gave
the boy a blessing that few men received. The years flew by as the boy got
older and older until his unrelenting energy for work burned out and got him
sick. Now a teenager, the boy watched from his room as replacement farmers did
his job for him. Not only did each worker do better than he did, but they also
were praised higher and given more gifts than he. After some time passed, the
boy felt forgotten. The only people that came to him were the people who gave
him his food and medication and even they left him to help and cheer on the new
workers.
“What is even the point of me even
being here?” the boy questioned, “These workers replaced me and then some by
doing a better job than I ever could. The King has no use of a mediocre in His
Kingdom such as I. I was never a great worker. If I went back to work now, I
would only hold everyone back.”
The boy snuck out of his house with
nothing but his pitchfork and left the gates of the Kingdom.
As he looked back on the shining
Kingdom, he said, “They’re better off without me. My replacements are already
there and doing a better job than me, so my skills and even my existence is
obsolete.”
The boy journeyed far from the Kingdom
and came across a small farm. Since he was hungry, he worked for his food and
because of his service, he was offered a job and shelter there.
“Please, stay and work for me. I’ll
give you anything you want,” the owner said.
“No, I’m an obsolete worker worth
nothing. Please, do yourself a favor and find someone else,” the boy said as he
headed out.
Along the road, the boy came across
a man being mugged by thieves. With his pitchfork, the boy fought off the
thieves and scared them away.
“Thank you so much for saving me,
boy. Come home with me and I’ll make you a feast worthy of someone as brave as
you,” the mugged man said.
“Thank you for the offer, but I am
not worthy of your gift. Please give it to someone who is homeless instead. Surely,
they are more worthy than I,” the boy said as he kept wandering.
Again, the boy found another person
in need. A woman fell near a cliff and was unable to climb up. The boy used his
pitchfork to lift her up and out of danger.
“Thank you so much for helping me,
good Samaritan! I’ll give you anything you want!” she said.
“Please, don’t give me anything. I’m
not worth it,” the boy said before he walked away.
He didn’t get too far from the
woman before he saw a figure that was walking from the setting sun. As the figure
got closer, the boy couldn’t help but get on his knees. The King traveled by
Himself all the way from the Kingdom only accompanied by His white snake and
golden dove that He’s always with. The boy was immobilized by fear and could
only keep his head on the ground. The King stopped in front of the boy who
offered up his pitchfork.
“My King, I am not a worthy servant.
Give my pitchfork to someone who is. Perhaps one of my replacements will make
better use of it than I,” the boy said.
The King took the pitchfork then
placed it back into the boy’s hands while he gripped his hands tightly. This
made tears begin to flow from the boy’s eyes.
“I’m truly sorry for what I’ve
done. Please forgive me and allow me to work in Your glorious Kingdom again! I’ll
do anything!”
The King picked up the boy from his
feet and embraced him. He then took Him back to the Kingdom where a coming home
celebration was held for the boy. The boy went back to work as a farmer who did
his job better than ever. Not even his replacements could keep up with him. By
the end of his life, the boy became one of the kingdom’s best farmers.
Another lost sheep was one who dwelt
in another kingdom. The kingdom itself was under siege by the King’s.
As the lost sheep recounts, the
gates that were made of the finest materials of the earth were being broken
down as if they were made of straw. We had lost all our battles against the
King and now His armies were cutting through ours and soon the entire kingdom
will burn down. So many other kingdoms fell beneath us so easily, but not the King’s.
When we waged war against him, no army or weapon of ours could match His. I was
sitting and watched it all in the safety of my home. My anonymous suggestion
that I sent to the rulers was ripped up and mocked. I thought it would be best
to negotiate peace with the king, but they didn’t want to hear it.
The rulers only wanted to slay the
King and His people to make us the kingdom above all. What fools. Other people
in the kingdom have thought the same as I and have tried to escape, but the
rulers cut down everyone who opposed them. There is no way for me to escape.
Either the King’s army will cut me down or my own. That was until I heard a
peculiar knock at my window. To my shock, it was the King Himself with His
snake and dove.
I fell back and said, “Please,
grant me mercy, King!”
He held out His hand.
“Do You want me to join You?”
He shook His head to tell me yes.
“What need do you have of a lowly
sinner such as I?”
He only answered by extending His
hand further.
“If You wish it to be so, then I
will follow You.”
I took His hand and He carried me
out of my house. As we walked the streets of the burning city, His troops
ignored me and protected me when the soldiers of my kingdom saw me defecting to
the King’s side. The King even killed my attackers who got close enough to
strike me. I wanted to look back at the destruction that was happening, but He
turned my head forward. It’s probably best if I didn’t look anyway.
When we were outside the kingdom’s
gates, His troops on the outside congratulated me for choosing the right side
and repenting and gave me drink and food.
I looked around then asked the
King, “Are You going to save anyone else? I don’t see anyone else here from my
kingdom.”
He shook His head.
“No? Out of everyone in the kingdom,
You came only to save me?”
He shook His head to say yes. My
knees grew weak as I bowed down to Him and kissed His feet.
“Th-thank you, my King! I will
always faithfully serve You for this unimaginably great kindness that You have
done for me.”
His troops were exiting the kingdom
as it burned to ash and fell around them. Today, the once glorious kingdom is
ash and rubble and those who try to scavenge its remains or build atop it fall
dead within a day.
Yet another lost sheep was in a bar
that was in a small shanty town with the worst of sinners. The topic of the
King came up. Some people in the bar exited it while others drank more. Others dared
to talk falsely about Him.
“He’s a tyrant! When He isn’t sitting
on His throne all day, He’s waging war and burning down kingdoms.”
“I hate the fact that He destroys
others who disagree with Him or refuse to be allies. He treats them like villains.
Doesn’t He know that not everything that He thinks is a sin is evil?”
“He’s supposed to be this great
King that helps the innocent and poor, but all I see in the world is suffering
and poverty. I think He’s hurt more people than He’s helped. He’s such a
hypocrite.”
“Don’t you have anything to say
about Him, mister? You know more about Him than we do,” a scantily dressed
woman said to a man in long rags.
The man in rags sat and drank with
a scared expression on his face while appearing to be still.
“You were a high priest or
something, weren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking
about,” the man finally responded.
“Yeah, you got to talk to Him yourself.”
“You got the wrong man.”
“Those robes you’re wearing are
just dirty priest robes, aren’t they? You must know something.”
“Do I look like a man who would?”
“…I guess not.”
After a couple seconds passed, a man
in the bar asked, “It’s been awfully quiet the past few minutes.”
“Yeah, I don’t think the town’s
been this quiet.”
“Quit complaining. I actually like
this silence.”
To their surprise, the King walked
into the bar with his snake and dove on Him. Everybody except for the man in
robes moved in shock. The King stood silently looking around the bar as the air
in the building seemingly disappeared as everyone struggled to breathe. The foolish
woman went up to the King and hit Him before spitting in His face.
“You’re supposed to be a forgiving
fella, aren’t ya? Well, forgive me,” she said before hitting Him again.
Her hand that hit the King started
bleeding and before she knew it, every part of her was bleeding until she bled
to death on the spot. Another man tried to fight the King by throwing a bottle
of alcohol on Him then threw a match to burn Him.
“Burn in Hell!” the man said.
The fire did nothing to Him while
an invisible fire burned the man who attacked Him. No matter what the others
tried to do, the invisible fires on the man would not go out before the fires
subsided on the King. Everyone else sat quietly in fear as the King approached
the man in rags. The King tapped the man on the shoulder then held out His hand.
“You know what I did, my King. My
sins are horrendous and worth an immediate execution. I’m surprised I even
managed to live this long with You knowing what I did.”
The King still held out His hand in
silence.
“…and still You give me the chance
to repent and pay for my sins. Your mercy truly knows no bounds. Please,
forgive me.”
The man in rags takes the hand of
the King and walks away with Him back to His Kingdom. Along the way, the
scorching heat of the sun and thirst for alcohol attack him but looking at the
King gives him strength. By the time the King returned from the long journey,
the man in rags looked nothing like his former alcoholic self and his robes
were as white as snow. A celebration was made for the man before he went back
to his priestly duties.
