Barabbas' Tale Part One

A man sat in the floor of his cold damp cell. The stone walls were covered in tally marks and profanity and the packed dirt floor reeked of blood and urine. He could hear the cries and coughs of his fellow prisoners echoing through the corridors of the prison. Those sounds didn’t bother him. The water dripping into a puddle just on the other side of the heavy wooden cell door did bother him. It was relentless. Regardless of the day or the hour, that sound was his constant companion.

Prison was not for the faint of heart. If one wasn’t in peril because of the guards or the other prisoners, one was in peril on account of the rats. The man’s eyes wandered to the row of rat tails hanging from the mortar joints in his cell walls. He was not the faint of heart. He was a murderer, not just of rats, but of people. And he was a thief. He was just biding his time in prison until execution day, or days rather. No one ever seemed to die in just one day.

He might not have long to wait. Rumor on the block was that they were organizing an execution party right now and there were three slots available. One for each of the two thieves down the hall and the other most likely for him. He deserved it and he knew it.

“It’s about time,” he grumbled through fear and disdain. “Better to die then to rot away in this hole.”

“Barabbas,” the guard interrupted his train of thought. “You’ve been summoned.”

Barabbas, for that was the prisoner’s name, groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. He breathed sharply through clenched teeth as he slowly made his way to the entrance of the cell. He turned his back away from the door and placed his hands behind his back. His eyes scanned the room as he heard the metallic scraping of the heavy latch disengaging. He waited to feel the cold steel of the wrought iron shackles against his skin. Instead, he felt the warmth of the Roman guard’s hand on his bare shoulder.

“This way, Barabbas,” he instructed.

Confused, Barabbas turned and followed the guard. He expected to turn right out of the cell because that was the way of the condemned prisoner. Instead, he turned left. The guard led him down the corridor, up a flight of dirty stone steps, and through a doorway into the blinding light of the sunrise.

Barabbas looked across the courtyard at a group of soldiers. In the center of the group was a man, stripped to his loincloth, and covered in blood. Barabbas stopped in his tracks and stared. He didn’t recognize the man. In addition to the loincloth, he wore a wreath of desert thorns just above his ears. The brambles of the makeshift crown dug deep into his head. One soldier struck him from behind with a staff. He cried out in pain and fell to his hands and knees. He looked up and locked eyes with Barabbas. Time seemed to freeze. Blood and dirt matted in his eyebrows and bruises were starting to show on his face. His left eye was almost swollen shut. Barabbas had never seen this man before, but the man acted as though he had known Barabbas his whole life. Barabbas felt pity for the man, and this surprised him because he had not felt pity in years. Still, the compassion Barabbas saw in the other man’s eyes eclipsed the compassion he had seen in the eyes of his own mother.  Barabbas continued to stare into the eyes of the stranger until he saw something more than compassion. He saw love.

“Hey, Barabbas,” the guard interjected. “Better stop staring or they’ll think you want to join in.”

“Who is that man?” Barabbas questioned his guide.

“Jesus, I think,” the guard replied. “Claims to be the king of the Jews.”

“Is that why he’s being beaten and scourged like that?” Barabbas pressed.

“I’m not really sure,” the guard shrugged. “The Jewish religious leaders want him crucified, so Pilate’s giving them what they want.” The guard opened the courtyard gate and stood to the side. He handed Barabbas a piece of paper and continued. “You’re free to go. Here are your release papers. If I were you, I’d keep a low profile for a while. I still can’t believe they chose you.”

Before Barabbas had a chance to ask for clarification, he found himself on the other side of the iron gate watching the guard walk away. He stroked his raggedy beard, ran his finger through his flea infested hair, and turned away from the prison. He walked down a dusty ally, confused about what had just happened. Release papers? He should be executed. They chose him? Who did? Why? Who was Jesus and why was he being beaten?

He rounded the corner and tripped over a foot. He turned to apologize and found a man sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees. The man, who hadn’t even noticed Barabbas, was sobbing into his robe.

“He said I would deny him three times before the rooster crowed,” he cried as he tried to catch his breath. “I swore I would die with him, but he was right. The rooster crowed. I failed him, my friend and my savior.”

“Who said?” Barabbas pressed.

The man caught his breath and looked up at Barabbas. He struggled to his feet and turned down the ally.

“Who said?!” Barabbas called after him. “Who did you deny?”

Barabbas got no answer. The man ran away leaving a trail of dust.

Barabbas stood for a moment as he tried to get his bearings. He thought that in a city this old, things would never change, but he’d experienced the darkness of incarceration so long, the whole world looked different. He turned in a circle, looking for something familiar. Finally, he just picked a direction and went with it. The narrow street was on a moderate incline. Having never been one to choose the easy path, he walked uphill. He rounded the corner of the Roman barracks and stopped dead in his tracks. The square before him was packed with people. Some of them tried to give the appearance of indifference as they milled about around the edge of the mob. The rest of the crowd had been worked up into a frenzy.

Someone nearby cried out “Crucify Him!” Barabbas turned to run, thinking the call was for him. The crowd echoed the call of the instigator as the temple Pharisees stood to the side and nodded their approval. Barabbas stopped as soon as he realized that no one was chasing him. The call for death was apparently not for him. He turned back to the crowd to watch. Soon, the sea of people parted as if Moses himself were there. A clear path opened up between Barabbas the killer and the man he would come to recognize as Jesus the condemned King.

Jesus was covered in sweat and blood as he struggled under the weight of the cross he bore. He fought to put one foot in front of the other as the soldiers goaded him and the crowd spat on him as he passed by. The humiliation was palpable and weighed heavy on the heart of Barabbas. Barabbas didn’t understand why this man’s plight resonated so intensely with him. He didn’t know the man, but their fates seemed somehow intertwined. Barabbas knew that cross was his to bear. Instead, Jesus carried it for him, and the brutal death that came with it.

“Hey,” a bystander addressed the freed criminal. “You’re Barabbas, aren’t you?” Barabbas nodded with some hesitation. “Lucky break for you, huh?” the man continued. “Who would have though that the people would find someone they hated more than you?”

“What do you mean?” Barabbas questioned.

“They didn’t tell you?” the man replied. “The crowd decided to have you released instead of that teacher. They were given the choice between you and Jesus. They wanted him dead so badly, they begged for your freedom. That cross he’s carrying was meant for you.”

With that final statement, the stranger turned away and followed the mob through the streets of the city, leaving Barabbas to bare the full weight of his circumstances on his own. Barabbas dropped to the ground and sobbed. This man, who had already been so badly beaten, would die a horrific death, literally on the cross meant for Barabbas. Barabbas had heard stories about this Jesus. His work had reached even the closed hearts and minds of Roman guards who staffed the prison. Everyone knew about the sick he had healed, the hungry he had fed, and the dead he had raised. Jesus was the last person who should die on a cross and he was there in place of a killer and a thief, a lowlife worthy of death.

Barabbas didn’t move from that spot all day. He didn’t need to go to the Place of the Skull. He knew the horrors Jesus would suffer. He was barely phased when the sun went dark. He knew at that moment that Jesus had died. A temple messenger had darted past him in the dark and returned sometime later with the Pharisees. He heard them mumbling and worrying about the veil in the temple. He didn’t understand why that was so important. He didn’t move from his place on the ground until a man named Joseph approached him.

“Excuse me,” he greeted Barabbas. “Were you not part of the crowd that witnessed the death of Jesus of Nazareth?”

“No,” Barabbas sighed. “I was the man who should have died on his cross.”

“I see,” Joseph replied. “Perhaps you would be willing to help me.  You see, Jesus is dead. I have gotten permission from Pilate to take him down from his cross and lay him to rest in my tomb. It must be done today because tomorrow is the Sabbath. Would you please help me with his body?”

Barabbas nodded and stood up. He followed Joseph up the hill to the crest of Golgotha. Tears streamed down his face as he stared at the naked body of his savior. The coppery smell of blood and the sour scent of vinegar were thick in the air. The sight of Jesus’ lifeless body was almost more than the ex-con could bear. Blood and water still dripped from a gaping wound in his side, but his legs lacked the telltale trauma found in the legs of the thieves on either side. This man had died without the aid of the leg breakers.

Joseph pulled a long length of linen from his satchel. He climbed up a ladder and draped the linen across the torso of the dead man, under his arms, and over the horizontal member of the cross. The two ends of the linen hit the ground on either side of the bloody post. Barabbas knew what to do. He grabbed one end in each hand and pulled the linen tight. Joseph, having already removed the nail from Jesus feet, placed a spike through the nail hole from the back side of the cross and pounded. Three, four, five strikes and Jesus’ left arm fell free. Barabbas pulled the linen tight as he felt the weight of the body. Joseph repeated the process with the right hand. Barabbas, bearing the body of his savior, began to cry.

Joseph climbed down the ladder with tears in his own eyes. He nodded to Barabbas who lowered the body into Joseph’s arms. Barabbas helped Joseph lay Jesus’ body onto a stretcher. He turned to look at the cross. The wood of the death structure was stained red from the blood of its charge. The nails lay on the ground at the foot of the cross. Barabbas, knowing the nails would be reused for some common criminal, picked them up and held them in his hands. They were sticky with blood. He pulled his arm back and threw the nails as far away as he could. He turned back to Joseph and nodded. They picked up the stretcher and carried the body of Jesus Christ down the hill.

Church Wellfare

There is a long tradition amongst Christians to give of their incomes to the church. This is biblicallymandated by God in the Old Testament as a way of providing for the Levites. The Levites were the tribe of Israel that was in charge of the temple of God and did not own property as the other eleven tribes
did. One might be tempted to think that tithing is no longer necessary as we no longer live under old testament law. However, Jesus specifically said in Mathew 5:17 that he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. For this reason, we still bring our tithes (ten percent of our income) to the church.
However, the Bible talks not only of tithes, but of offerings. Offerings are monetary gifts given to God through various means that go above and beyond ten percent of one’s income. It is often through tithes
that Christians take care of the costs of keeping a church open. It is through offerings that they reach out to those in need in their communities and in their lives.

Offerings can be given directly to the church and distributed through a church’s benevolence funds. This is a perfectly acceptable way to offer of one’s resources to the Lord. However, there are many people in the world who are in need of help but may never darken the doors of a church. That is where believers have the opportunity and responsibility to give of their resources on their own.

There are many good reasons for a believer to give above and beyond his required ten percent. Caring for those who can’t adequately care for themselves is something that has always been important to God. Deuteronomy 15:11 says “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you
to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy.” God acknowledges the poor in the land and explains his system to care for them. Ephesians 4:28 says “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have
something to share with those in need.” We are encouraged to work with our hands so that we have the resources to care for those in need. In Galatians 6:2 we are commanded to “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.” It’s not just a suggestion that we carry each other’s burdens. It’s the law. Hebrews 13:16 admonishes us “Do not forget to do good and share with
others, for with such sacrifices, God is pleased.” It pleases God when his children care for each other.

However, we’re not just told to care for the poor and needy just because it’s important to God, although
this would be reason enough. Hebrews 6:10 tells us that “God is not unjust, he will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.” Showing kindness to others is a tangible way of serving God. He draws a direct parallel between our service to
Him and our service to others. Matthew 5:16 says “In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” This verse tells us that the people we serve will draw this same parallel. They will look at our good deeds and glorify God as a direct result. Matthew 25:35-40 really brings this home. “’For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the
righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes an clothe you? when did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The king will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” In the following five verses, we see the other side of this equation for those who did not help with verses 44 and 45 saying “they also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.’”

There is a third aspect of giving which Randy Alcorn explains quite effectively in his book "The Treasure Principle." Luke 12:33-34 tells us to “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail. Where no thief comes near and no moth destroys for where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” You can’t take your treasure with you, but you can send it on ahead. Luke 6:38 says “Give and it will be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” We are to give generously of what we have been
given and God will reward our faith. Proverbs 19:17 corroborates this point by saying “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done.” Proverbs 22:9
continues this point with “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”

However, in Philippians 2:3-4 we are warned “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of others.” Our motivation matters. If we are giving out of a desire to be rewarded, our
motivation is wrong. James 1:17 reminds us that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows.” Nothing that we have belongs to us. It is only in our possession thanks to the generous nature of God. It is important for us to remember that we are but stewards of God’s resources. Give credit where credit is due. James 2:14-17 really ties all this together well. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone
claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed.’ But does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” Our giving is a direct indication of our faith. We only hold tightly to what we have if we don’t trust God to give us what we need. We have the massive blessing of being the executers of God’s estate. We get to be the channels through which God blesses those around us. We
get to give freely from God’s storehouse and watch Him change lives.

So, the natural response to such a realization is to consider how the present-day church is doing in regards to the poor and needy. How are we caring for the widows and orphans? I am sure that there are many churches that are working very hard in this area. A 2017 article on Christianitytoday.com titled
"How Many Churches Does America Have? More Than Expected" cited a 2012 National Congregations study that stated that the U.S. had 384,000 congregations. I doubt very much that all of these churches are taking the Poor and Needy mandate seriously. My primary evidence for this statement is the United
States Welfare System. I firmly believe that the safety net system we have in our country would be completely irrelevant and altogether unnecessary if the Christian church in America was taking care of the poor and needy, the widows and orphans, in their respective communities. God’s plan was for the church to be the community safety net for those who lack the resources to provide for themselves. What better way to live our faith than that? People can’t argue with the love of God when we’re serving them in their time of need.

So, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:4) “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” (Proverbs 3:27) “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (Romans 12:13). And “…Anyone who has two shirts should share with one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” (Luke 3:11)

One final thought, often we wonder how much of our resources we should give to those in need. C.S.
Lewis addresses this point in his book "Mere Christianity" and I don’t think I can express it any better than
he. “I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditures on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper
us, I should say they are far too small."

The Folly of Discontentment

Discontentment first masquerades as aspiration. You will ask yourself, “Isn’t it a good thing to think about and plan for my future?” You will spend hours imagining the life you want and comparing that against the life that you have. You will come to resent the people around you who have the life you think you deserve. The more time you spend building your imaginary kingdom, the more your sufficient cottage will feel like squalor. You will live out your life as a bitter person who is neither content with what you have, nor able to achieve what you imagined.

Discontentment first masquerades as aspiration. This is the case with many sins. At first, it seems like a good thing. The problem with aspiration is that it takes place on two separate planes. There’s the physical plane and the spiritual plane. Anytime we concentrate on the world we loose sight of our position in God’s kingdom. Proverbs 10:28 says “The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectations of the wicked will perish.”  When we aspire to the role God has for us in His kingdom, we will find true contentment. It is when we aspire to a place in the world that we get into trouble.

You will ask yourself, “Isn’t it a good thing to think about and plan for my future?” Yes, it is. This is why we go to work every day, pay the electric bill, pay the car insurance, pay the mortgage and so on and so forth. We have a long list of responsibilities that exist for the sole purpose of ensuring our well-being beyond this moment.  However, when you try to find verses about planning for the future, you come across verses like Jeremiah 29:11-“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” And verses like Philippians 1:6- “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Or Proverbs 19:20-21- “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.” The common thread that is weaved through scripture on the future is that God is the one with a plan. Worry about today’s responsibilities and learn to be submissive to God’s plan.

You will spend hours imagining the life you want and comparing that against the life that you have. This drives home the idea of concentrating on the world instead of the Kingdom of God. Colossians 3:2 instructs us to “set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” Learn to be grateful for the life you have as you look forward to your eternity with God. Our time here on earth is just a tiny fraction of our existence.

You will come to resent the people around you who have the life you think you deserve. There are two issues with this mindset. First, you resent the people who are doing well. The Bible clearly states that coveting your neighbor’s things is wrong. It’s one of the ten commandments. Resenting someone because of his success is just another level of coveting. The second issue is that you think you deserve what someone else has. What we deserve in this life is irrelevant, especially when compared against what we deserve in the next. Romans 6:23 tells us that “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We deserve eternal death. Try to remember that when you’re thinking about what you think you deserve in this world.

The more time you spend building your imaginary kingdom, the more your sufficient cottage will feel like squalor. The thing about our imagination is that it is a powerful thing. Studies have shown that there is little difference in our minds between experiencing something and imagining that same thing. We can get all the same mental rewards from imagining an experience that we get from the experience itself. Imagining the life you want is like going on a vacation and then having to come home to reality every day. This mental roller coaster is a great way to hardwire discontentment and disappointment into your mind. Setting up a constant comparison between what you want and what you have is folly. Instead, concentrate on the intangibles that you can truly call your own. Concentrate on the love you have for your friends and family as you reflect the love God has for you. Live in the joy of your salvation as you seek to share that joy with others. Reflect on the grace of God as you learn to extend that same grace to your children. These intangibles exist regardless of your earthly environment because they are rooted in Heaven.

You will live out your life as a bitter person who is neither content with what you have, nor able to achieve what you imagined. This is the bottom line with discontentment. It seeps into your pores and stains your entire person. Hebrews 13:5 says “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Understand that God is far more concerned with your position in His kingdom than your position in the world. First Timothy 6:6-7 says “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.”

This Is What We Call Progress

Two co-workers sat at a table together in the break room discussing their work.

"I hear you're making excellent strides in your potential suppression program," the first one began before sipping his steaming brew.

"Absolutely, J," replied the second individual. "As director of desensitization, I'm proud of the strides we've taken in our field."

"As you should be," J agreed. " I mean, when your department was created, we were snuffing out life in back alleys using coat hangers. Now, your work is sanctioned by every developed government as not only acceptable, but right and good. You really have accomplished a lot in a few short decades, K."

K nodded before replying. "In some ways, I miss the old days. Everything was fresh and radical. Everytime our process was deployed, there was so much at stake. Now that the process is so mainstream, it's almost boring."

"What do you mean," J pressed.

"Well," K shrugged. "In some ways, each event had so much more potential. The host was almost as likely to be terminated as the payload. The process provider was risking the loss of career and freedom. In a weird way, it was more efficient."

J nodded as he reached for a charcoal infused muffin. He took a bite of the dry pastry and washed the flavor from his palate using the scorched coffee.

"Ug," he muttered. "That muffin's dryer than Lucifer's retirement home." He tossed the remainder of he muffin into the trash and turned back to K. "I guess you can argue that efficiency is down from the early days, but you can't argue with the volume your getting right now. Besides that, the we're not just seeing massive industry growth, we're seeing major progress in the hearts and minds of the public. They've never been more supportive of your work than they are right now, especially in America."

"I know," K laughed. "isn't that ironic considering their religious history? By the same token, it's their history that has brought them to this level of support."

"Exactly," J responded. "Freedom has been the core of America's national doctrine since it's founding. They've taken that idea of personal liberty and placed it on a pedestal above all other ideals including morality. They just can't see that they've accepted a different kind of bondage." J checked his watch and turned back to K. "Other than abortion, what other improvements have you made?"

"Well," K mused. "Just as freedom is America's core doctrine, abortion is really our core doctrine. Everything we do seems to grow out of our success in the abortion industry. For a long time, people were arguing about whether or not life starts at conception. Now they're arguing about whether or not life starts at birth. Before, they were arguing about whether or not unborn children have rights. Now, they're demonstrating their belief that children as old as fifteen don't have rights."

"That's what impresses me most about your work," J grinned. "We have finally progressed to the point where children are being denied life saving medical care over the objections of the parents because further treatment is considered cruel. Children are being transitioned from their gender at birth at ages as young as five. We've finally gotten them to the point where children have so little value, they're willing to let them die and be utilized in grotesque social experiments."

"A lot of my progress is due to your work in reversed cognitive activity," K asserted. "While simultaneously denying the right to life, people are granting children the rights to make drastic and irreversible decisions about their bodies. They're too young to smoke or drink alcohol, but their not too young to take hormones and opt for a sex change? Come on, even I know that's crazy. Not to mention the fact that one of the chief arguments for abortion is women's rights to do what they want with their body. First of all, fifty percent of the children who are aborted are female. Second, you have them convinced that the fetus is a part of their body. Would they claim a tumor as a part of their body? Probably not."

J laughed out loud before responding. "Hey, I'm good at what I do. What's next in your business plan?"

"Well, you're going to love this," K grinned. "Picture this, involuntary abortions without the knowledge of the mother."

"No way," J exclaimed. "Even you can't pull that off!"

"You underestimate me, my friend," K smugly replied. "They're already on their way. One of the arguments for abortion is population control. At first, it was about demographics. Soon enough, it'll be about overcrowding and resource management. Humans are so concerned about the environment, their willing to kill off large swaths of their own species to protect it."

"Yeah, but you're talking about involuntary abortions," J reminded his colleague. "How are you going to pull that off?"

"Hey, people are prideful and self serving," K shrugged. "It's that sin nature we work so hard to get them forget about. There have always been marginalized people groups in the world. Also, democracy is really becoming popular in the world. That's great because democracy presents the opportunity for immoral governance if that's what the majority of the people want.That's why so many people in America are trying to convince the population that their government is a democracy instead of a constitutional republic."

"I follow your logic," J nodded. "But what will it look like?"

"The majority, represented by their elected government, will establish a process by which they will determine which children get to be born," K began. "The news outlets will ignore it and those who don't ignore, won't be believed. Pregnancies will be allowed to come to term based on the family's socioeconomic positions in their respective communities. Cancer, along with mental and physical disorders, will be weeded from society. Look at Iceland. They've already eliminated Downs syndrome through abortion. They'll do this without the mother's knowledge by induced miscarriages and they'll preach against the rich for having access to 'better' healthcare. The whole phenomenon will be chalked up to disparities between the rich and the poor, which will only get worse due to the rise of socialism. Good going on that, by the way. Abortion providers will be integrated into the new national healthcare system and will utilize the network to ensure that the government's trait matrix is universally applied."

"Wait, how can you have healthcare disparities when you have a universal healthcare system?" J interrupted.

"How can you have income disparities in a socialist society?" K replied. "Besides, backwards logic is your department. Human nature and flawed reasoning will iron out the kinks. They always do."
"Do you think you'll be able to get with devaluing pregnant women like that?" J asked doubtfully.
"They've devalued the most vulnerable people in their society. If they can devalue the unborn, they can devalue anyone." K asserted.

"What happens if people find out about it?" J asked. "Won't they revolt?"

"How would they revolt?" K pressed. "They're loosing their guns, and their right to self defence, as we speak."

"Good point," J admitted. "But that doesn't take spiritual warfare into account."

"You mean the Christians?" K clarified. I'm not worried about them. The vast majority of them are indistinguishable from the general population. They have lost so much credibility that they don't even try to be separate from the world anymore. Most don't attend church regularly. Prayer and Bible study are practically a thing of the past. Unless they step up their game in a massive way, they're not a threat to my plan."

"Hey boneheads!" The conversation was interrupted. " Break's over!"

J glanced at his watch and nodded.

"Yep, I suppose it is. A demon's work is never done."

What Are You Wearing?

Pain. Fear. Frustration. Disappointment. Disillusionment. Insecurity. Uncertainty. These are all parts of a heavy burden that we wear like a coat every day. Picture this coat like a strait jacket. The primary characteristics of this coat are its weight and restrictiveness. The weight is oppressive and emotionally exhausting to carry every day. Everything in life takes so much more energy and effort because of the emotional weight resting on the shoulders of the wearer. Another trait of this strait jacket is its restrictive nature. A strait jacket straps a person’s arms across their abdomen and fastens them in place. This creates a posture that makes it difficult to go through life.

 First of all, it limits a person’s interaction with other people. We are called to reach out to those around us to lift up, encourage, and comfort them in the times of trouble. A person wearing the strait jacket of emotional burden can only embrace himself. Think about it. How are we to comfort those in our lives when we are buried under our own burdens. How can we toss out a life preserver when we ourselves are drowning? Furthermore, a person in a strait jacket, even when trying to comfort other people, can only lean against that person. That’s not exactly the kind of comfort a person in need is looking for.

It also restricts a person’s posture in how he relates to his Savior. When we go to the alter to pray, our posture is all wrong if we’re wearing out strait jacket. How can we seriously ask God for anything with our arms crossed? And how can we receive anything from God with that posture?  When I was a child, I was taught to pray with my eyes closed and my hands folded. This was because children are extremely distractible. Now when I pray, I picture myself standing or kneeling with my face turned towards heaven and with my arms outstretched and my hands open with my palms up. This posture is very important because it is the posture of both giving and receiving. When we take this posture before the alter, we are prepared to give freely of ourselves to God and we are ready to receive his blessings. One can neither give nor receive while wearing a heavy, burdensome, strait jacket.

So the question then becomes, how do we approach the alter with the proper posture? The first impulse is to take off the jacket and hang it up in the coat room on the way into the sanctuary. That seems reasonable because it’s not polite to wear a coat in someone’s house and now you’re free to assume the proper posture. So you stand before the alter prepared to give and receive. You say amen and pick up your strait jacket on the way out. You are still unable to minister to your fellow man because of the burden of your coat.

Let’s talk for a moment about the alter. In the old testament, the alter was used to offer burnt sacrifices to God in atonement for sin. Now days, we don’t offer burnt sacrifices because the price for our sin has already been paid. Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin. There’s nothing that we can offer that can better atone for our sins then the sacrifice that Jesus has already made. So why do we still talk about the alter? I think the alter is still there for us to sacrifice the things that we think have no business being in God’s temple. The things like Pain, Fear, Frustration, Disappointment, Disillusionment, Insecurity and Uncertainty. All the things our strait jacket of burden is made of. We take that coat off because we don’t want to take it to God. We don’t feel like we have a right to bring it to God. We think that the strait jacket is our burden to bear. It’s not.

 I think that the alter is there for that strait jacket. God wants us to lay our burdens on his alter and leave them there for him to bear. Once we give him our burdensome coat, he wants to give us a new coat. This coat is made of his love and lined with his hope. It gives the wearer full range of motion, full use of his arms. Once we put on this coat, we can wrap our arms around people so that they can feel the warmth of God’s love. We can reach out and help them carry their burdens. We can be the light of the world, the salt of the earth that we have been called to be. When people look at us, they won’t see people bent under the burdens of life and wrapped up in their own problems. They will see someone clothed in the righteousness of God, wrapped in his loving arms, and snuggled in the hope of salvation.

Now, it’s easy to think that this is a one and done process. It’s easy to say, “Ok, I’ve laid the strait jacket on the alter and donned the warmth of God’s love. I’m good. I’ll have nothing but blue skies and sunshine for the rest of my life.” I want to make myself clear. The process I’ve just described is not salvation. The strait jacket of burden is a device that the devil uses to keep God’s people from being effective in this fallen world. That means that when you leave the alter, Satan is going to be waiting outside to talk you into a new strait jacket. “Hey, I see you lost your coat. No worries. I have a new one for you. Check it out. It’s cut from the same cloth as your old one. I know you must miss it. Here, just let me help you put it back on.”

My point is, there’s always going to be material available for a new strait jacket. That just means you’re going to have to spend a lot of time before the alter. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is Gods will for you who belong to Christ.” (NLT)

 Every time you start to feel the weight of the strait jacket on your shoulders, Pray. Every time you feel the pushing of the Holy Spirit to reach out to someone you love, reach out and then pray. Every time you feel your joy slipping away, Pray. Exercise the muscles that allow you to show God to the world.  We are instructed to pray without ceasing so that we are constantly in a position to lay our burdens on the alter so that we can show the love a Christ to the world. That’s how you keep the strait jacket off and keep people asking, “What are you wearing?”

Self Imprisonment- It's as ridiculous as it sounds

Rodger sat in his cold concrete cell passing the time as he had for years. he paged through the book he had gotten from the book cart although he didn’t find it to be particularly interesting. He stared out the small window high on the west wall and watched the birds fly back and forth on their ever important errands. He scratched designs and shapes into the drab dreary paint on the rough cinder block walls alongside the markings of the previous occupants. It was a boring life that he lived all within the narrow confines of the small cold enclosure.

He deserved to be there, and he knew it. The land was governed by ten simple laws and he had broken most of them. He had come to accept his fate as the natural conclusion of the life he had chosen to live. His future would only exist within this prison. He would have no more opportunities to make his was in the world. He had only to live out his natural life in confinement and die. This was his lot in life and he had accepted it.

One day, as he sat paging through his assigned book, he heard a knock at his cell door followed closely be the clanging of the lock. The door slid open to the left and there in the opening stood the prison warden, Lucifer. The warden stood to one side, revealing a man in a black suit and a blue paisley tie.

“Hello there, Rodger,” the man in the paisley tie greeted him. “I am hear from the president’s office. he has offered you a pardon for all infractions, both past and future. All you have to do is accept it and you are free to go.”

Rodger sat on the edge of his steel framed cot with a look of sheer shock on his face. Surely there had been a mistake. He did not deserve a pardon. He was scum. He knew this because the warden had told him so every day since his incarceration. Surely, the man in the paisley tie was wrong.

“Look, Rodger,” the man continued. “I have a pretty good idea of what’s going through your head right now. You don’t think you deserve a pardon. You’re right. No one deserves a pardon. But that has no bearing on the president’s desire to offer you one. He’s offered pardons to thousands of prisoners. Millions even, and many of them don’t accept their pardons because they know they don’t deserve them. But don’t let their decisions color yours. There’s a life waiting for you outside this cell. All you have to do is sign the paperwork and walk out.”

Rodger got up from his cot and walked over to the cell door. He took the outstretched clipboard and signed his name at the bottom of the page. Th man in the tie gave a satisfied smile and tucked the clipboard under his left arm.

“Rodger,” he addressed the prisoner. “You are a free man. Now, go and live the life of freedom your president desires for you.”

The man walked down the prison corridor and waited in front of another cell. The warden stepped to the side to allow Rodger to exit his cell. Rodger turned towards the exit but stopped as the warden looked into his eyes. Rodger felt uncomfortable. The joy and elation he had felt at his release faded in the face of the warden’s cold judgmental gaze.

“Well, Scum,” the warden began. “I guess it’s your lucky day. You’re a free man, as they say. You and I both know that you don’t deserve freedom. No one on this block does. You’re free to walk out of here because the president says you are but, don’t forget where you belong. I’m going to leave this cell door open. When you are out there living your life, you’re going to remember that you are living a life you don’t deserve. When that happens, I want you back in this cell because this is where you belong.”

Rodger stared into the warden’s eyes for a few seconds as he tried to shake what he had just heard. Finally, he slipped past the warden and left the building. He was a free man. His life had a purpose now. He didn’t have to live in bondage anymore. He walked to the parking lot and found a car waiting for him.

The car took him to a halfway house for recently pardoned prisoners. Rodger was surprised at how many people were there. They all had stories very similar to his own. The people who ran the halfway house helped him secure a job and an apartment. They helped him learn how to interact with people again. They were exactly what Rodger needed to forget the warden’s cold indifference. These people cared. They loved Rodger and wanted to help him succeed.

Months went by, and Rodger succeeded. Eventually, years went by and Rodger found himself relying less and less on the proprietors of the halfway house. Ultimately, self-sufficiency was their goal so they were happy to see him doing so well. Rodger met a woman and fell in love. He and his wife had a child. Rodger’s career continued to advance.

 Rodger looked up from his desk on day and took in the family picture he kept at the office. He realized that he was living the life he had always wanted. And he remembered what the warden had said. You’re going to remember that you are living a life you don’t deserve. You’ll remember that you belong in here. Rodger shook the warden’s words from his head. Nobody deserved the life they lived, but everyone lived the life that the president wanted for them. That’s what Rodger had been told at the halfway house. The president wanted freedom for his citizens. That’s why he offered the pardons to everyone.

Rodger sat back  and thought over the last ten years since his release. He had done well, but not as well as he thought that he would. When he left the prison, he had told himself that he would never break the law again, but he had. He had been guilty of countless infractions since his release. The reality of his guilt weighed on him. He reached for the phone on his desk and called his wife. He told her that he wouldn’t be home that night or the night after. In fact, he wouldn’t be home until after work on the following Monday. He didn’t explain why, because he didn’t think she’d understand.

After work, he got into his car and drove to the prison. He walked into the booking center and addressed the person behind the counter.

“You don’t have to introduce yourself, Scum,” and gravelly voice cut him off. “I remember who you are. Your cell is waiting.”

Rodger recognized the warden’s accusing tone. The face of the counter clerk wasn’t that of the warden, but the voice was unmistakable. Rodger took the tan jumpsuit and stepped into a privacy booth to change. He put his three-piece suit into a paper bag along with his silver watch, briefcase, and wallet. He left his personal property with the clerk and walked through the open door to the prison block corridor. He found his cell in no time. It was just as he had left it. He walked through the open cell door and collapsed on the thin mattress of the cold steel bed. He buried his face in the musty pillow and cried himself to sleep.

He woke up to the sound of a stainless steel tray sliding across the hard concrete floor.

“Breakfast is served, Scum,” the warden’s voice sounded from the hallway. “Eat up. Guilt is no good on an empty stomach.”

Rodger looked up and was surprised to see that the warden was nowhere to be seen. The person who had addressed him was the woman pushing the food service cart. However, the voice was unmistakably the warden’s.

Rodger reached for the heavy tray and surveyed the meal before him. There was a mound of mush alongside a pile of scrambled eggs that weren’t quite the right color. Rodger picked up the plastic sport and plunged it into the mush and took a bite. He had almost gagged. The mush was thick, flavorless and was room temperature. He stabbed a chunk of the eggs and had a similar experience. He had forgotten how miserable the food of prison was. He took a deep breath and powered through. He deserved to be there, and he was going to take all the punishment that was in store for him, including the food.

Rodger spent the whole weekend in his cell remembering how much he didn’t deserve the freedom he had experienced of the last ten years. On Monday morning, he hit the showers and retrieved his personal affects from the counter clerk. He slid his suit jacket over his shoulders and turned towards the exit.

“See you next weekend, Scum,” the warden’s voice echoed from behind the counter.

Rodger paused for a moment before pushing through the heavy steel doors. He breathed a heavy sigh of resignation as he realized that the warden was right. He would be back behind bars for the next weekend.

Rodger was back behind bars the following weekend. In fact, he checked himself into the prison every weekend for the next six months. Even then, he didn’t feel it was enough. He still lived a life he didn’t deserve from Monday morning until Friday night. He knew he deserved to stay in prison all week, but he had responsibilities to his family. His time behind bars mystified his wife. She had also been pardoned and knew they were both living a life they didn’t deserve. However, she was content to live in the freedom provided by her pardon. Finally, one Friday afternoon, she dropped her son off at her mother’s house and went to her husband’s office.

Rodger walked out of his office building and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of his wife.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her.

“I’m here to make sure that you come home,” his wife replied. “I’m sick and tired of you spending every weekend in jail when your pardon covered everything.”

“Don’t you understand?” Rodger pressed. “I deserve to be behind bars. I have continued to fail since I was released. I still belong behind bars.”

“Why do you think you belong behind bars?” she challenged him. “You were pardoned! You are free! Who told you that you’re not?”

“Nobody,” Rodger shrugged. “I know I’m free. But the warden says that I belong behind bars and you now what? He’s right! I don’t deserve freedom!”

At this statement, Rodger’s wife grabbed him by the lapels of his suit jacket and pulled his face close to hers. She looked deep into his eyes and spoke slowly as if to ensure that Rodger heard everything she had to say.

“I know you don’t deserve freedom,” she began through clenched teeth. “No one deserves freedom. But that doesn’t mean that you belong in prison. We were pardoned. Everyone who lives a free life was pardoned. We belong in freedom because the president said we do. The warden doesn’t make the rules. He told me the same thing he told you. He’s wrong. A free man does not belong in prison. Come home with me and live in freedom.”

Rodger stood there, looking into the eyes of the woman he loved. He heard what she said but he wasn’t sure she had it right. Maybe she had obeyed the law since her pardon. In her case, it made sense for her to live in freedom, but not his. No, he deserved to live in prison. He tried to pull away from her, but her grasp tightened.

“Do you think your freedom was free?” she asked him as her tone tightened. “Do you know what the president had to do to get us our pardons? He gave up his son! His only son was executed in exchange for our freedom and you have the gall to tell him that his pardon isn’t good enough?”

“Wait,” Rodger stuttered. “You mean to tell me that my pardon was paid for?”

“Yes! And every minute you spend behind bars is a slap in the face to the man who paid for it,” his wife exclaimed. “Now come home. You don’t belong in prison. Your freedom was bought and paid for and the warden no longer has power over you. The only power he has is the power you give him. The cell door is always open because he no longer has the power to lock it! It doesn’t matter what he says. That cell doesn’t belong to you anymore.”

Rodger stood for a moment before nodding his head.

“You’re right, dear. Let’s go home.”

I hope you enjoyed my little story. Here’s the message I was trying to convey. We are free from the shackles of sin thanks to the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. However, we often live our lives convincing ourselves that we live a life of freedom that’s not ours because we are in possession of a pardon we don’t deserve. These two concepts are not mutually inclusive. We don’t deserve the salvation we’ve been given but we are called to live in freedom from the shackles of our past lives. We as Christians need to stop walking back into the cells we were freed from just because the warden is telling us that we belong there. Jesus Christ told us we don’t.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” -Galatians 5:1

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” -1 Peter 2:16

The Retirement of 2017

2017 walked into the large gray structure before him. He was retired. His time was up.  2018 was taking over. People were saying terrible things about him. They were acting like everything that happened while he was in charge was his fault. Everyone was looking forward to the next year like things could only get better. Needless to say, 2017 did not feel good about this. He heaved a sigh of disappointment and made his way to the front desk.

"Hello," welcomed the cheery receptionist with an all-to-prominent smile. "Welcome to the Annual Retirement Center. How can I help you?"

"Uh, yeah," 2017 sighed. "I'm 2017. I guess I need to check in or something."

"Oh! It's great to have you!" The receptionist replied with excessive enthusiasm. "We've been expecting you. Took a while to decide to come in, huh? That's pretty normal. Retirement can be a real ordeal for some years."

"Just some years?" 2017 self-consciously inquired.

"Well," the receptionist responded with her voice thick with understanding. "Some years are just ready to retire. For instance, 1941 and 2001 couldn't wait to get checked in. They had such exhausting careers. The 1920's, however, were angry to be retiring. They just wanted to keep in roaring. The Great Depression put things into perspective for them real quick."

"I see," 2017 replied as he signed the paperwork on the desk before him. "Thanks."

The receptionist nodded as the newly retired year made his way towards a vacant rocking chair in the center of the room. He sank into the chair and closed his eyes. He had a hard career in a lot of ways, but he thought he had done well. There were a lot of people who had a great year but their accolades had been drowned out by all the complaints of the unsatisfied customers. A lot of people were born in his year, but all people were talking about were the lives that had expired. 

"It's not like I choose who's up for expiration," 2017 muttered under his breath. "I get my orders from the Minister of Lifetime Durations just like every other year. I just have to do what I'm told."

The fact of the matter is that for every bad thing that happened under his watch, there were two or three good things that happened. People just don't always see the good. 

"Hey there," 2017's train of thought was interrupted. "You're new here. You must be 2017."

"Yup, that's me," 2017 replied as he turned towards the stranger. "The worst year in history."

The whole room erupted in laughter, much to 2017's surprise.

"I'm 2016," the year held out his hand in friendship. "I'm the previous owner of that title. This right here is 2015. He claimed that title before me. The fact of the matter is, there are precious few residents of this establishment that haven't been labeled as the worst year ever. All the way back to 2000 B.C., when Adam and Eve decided to eat the forbidden fruit, people have been looking forward to the next year after 'the worst year in history.' It's human nature."

"He's not kidding," a particularly weathered year chimed in. "One minute, people were hailing me as the year that brought the most significant technilogical advancements in history. The next, they were condemning me for being the year that saw the most collateral loss of life in a war."

"I'm sorry, but I don't recognize you," 2017 addressed the old year. "What's your name?"

"1945," the year responded. "The thing is, both statements are true, to a certain extent."

"You're the year that saw the creation and use of the atomic bomb?" 2017 questioned. "How do you live with that? People have been questioning those decisions for decades."

1945 shrugged as 2016 chimed in. 

"It's not his fault," he explained. "We are all just time that has run out. Everyone here is 365 or 366 days that existed purely for the use of humanity. None of us got to choose how we were used. That's up to the people. We were just a resource that humanity tapped for good and evil. 1859 saw the commercialization of oil in the United States. People hailed him as a hero among years. Now their blaming him for global warming. 1993 saw the creation of the European Union. People thought he was great. Now they're not so sure. There are a lot of years that were hailed as great who now exist in the disdain of humanity."

"Why is that?" 2017 questioned as he shook his head.

"People are fickle," 1989 replied. "People are always looking ahead to the next big thing. I oversaw the invention of the flip phone."

"The what?" 2017 asked, dumfounded.

"Exactly," 1989 laughed. "One upgrade after another and suddenly the flip phone is a relic of history. Human beings have developed into an upgrade species. The worst part is that they  see all upgrades as good. With the rise of the smart phone, true human interaction has declined to record lows. But people don't see the dangers because they've 'upgraded.' 2018 is just the next upgrade, therefore, in the minds of the people, he must be better than you."

"Will he be better than me?" 2017 self consciously asked of the years around him.

"Well, look around you," 2007 replied from his place at the pool table. "You're surrounded by thousands of years who were supposed to be better than the last. Precious few of us are, at no fault of our own. As '16 said, we're just a commodity at the disposal of humanity. It's up to them."

"I'll tell you one thing," 1517 interjected. "They're never going to make anything of 2018 without God. The problem with humanity is that they keep trying to make each year better than the last without help from the source of all good. The world has had some great years, but these years were not great purely on the merit of those living at the time. The only one who can make the years great is the one living outside of time. The greatest years here are the ones that saw the most dedicated service to the Lord of the universe."

"People don't believe in God anymore," 2017 argued. "The days of Martin Luther are long gone."

"I'm going to have to disagree with you on that one," came an interjection from the far corner.

"Who are you to disagree with me?" 2017 inquired with impatience thick in his voice. "I literally just retired. I should know what people believe in."

"I'm 54 AD," the year replied patiently. "I have the unfortunate distinction of watching Nero come to power in Rome. I was forced to watch as he destroyed my legacy by brutally killing everyone who claimed to follow God. I spent many a sleepless night assuming that this brand new religion was quickly entering into extinction. But Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Do you know why that is? It's because people still believe in God."

"So," 2017 sighed, having been soundly put in his place by the years around him. "What's the play? What's retirement like for us?"

"Here's the play, '17," 2016 replied with an encouraging smile. "We root for the home team. We're history. We're here for people to look back on. 2018 doesn't have a chance of being the best year ever unless we are available for humanity to learn from. As the saying goes, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. And let me tell you, there are a lot of us who have an uncanny resemblance to each other. Maybe, just maybe, enough people will look back and enough people will trust God to make 2018 one of the greats by the time he joins us in retirement."