~ Would a God of love turn into a hideous monster at the stroke of midnight? ~
Your village has gathered to hear the king describe a wonderful new city he’s built.
“The walls glimmer with diamonds and the streets are paved with gold,” he says. “You will lack nothing there and all are welcome!”
“And what will it cost us?” asks the cobbler. “Our firstborn children?”
“My gift is free!” exclaims the king. “Only say ‘yes’.”
You turn to your neighbors who, like you, look skeptical.
“Our families have lived here for generations,” says an old widow. “Why would we want to leave?”
The king gives a knowing nod. “This world will soon end. It’s time for you to come into your eternal reward. Even sickness and death are forever banished there.”
The king gently brushes the cheek of young girl who stands beside him. “Each one of you is so precious to me … more precious than you can know.” His voice is choked with emotion. In the morning stillness, you see faces brighten. Hope stirs in your heart.
“So that’s my offer,” says the king with an air of “business.” “But it’s conditional. You will need to give me your answer, yes or no, by the end of the week. Come Sunday, those who choose rightly will be welcomed with lavish gifts into my loving presence.”
“And what about those who say ‘no’?” someone asks.
“You will be taken to a place of horror. You will live in terror and agony. You will be forever stalked and violated. Imagine the worst kind of torture and magnify that by millions. Imagine lakes of fire with the toxic reek of chemicals and putrefaction. Imagine a solitary confinement cell where you will be raped and tortured forever.”
A collective gasp fills the town square. Shock fills the faces of men, women and children.
“How could you be so cruel?” blurts a woman with a mop in her hand and a bucket at her feet.
“It’s not cruelty,” the king replies. “It’s justice. I’m unmerciful and just, like a strict parent. And yet in my justice, I am loving … because I am love embodied! My love knows no limits! Nobody loves like me! But the backside of my love has a bitter sting so don’t cross me, understood? This is my final warning.”
The king scowls at his subjects. You gasp as the woman throws down her mop and turns as if to leave.
“You can keep your pretty little promises,” the woman shouts. “I’d rather get locked out with all the losers than suck up to an unloving bastard like you. If you were love, as you claim, you would pursue us to the end of the earth, respectfully wooing us into your precious little kingdom. You’re no loving parent! The good folk I know would forgive their kids a hundred times over if it would bring them back into the family.”
“Ha, ha, ha!” exclaims the king, throwing back his head in laughter. “I don’t have time or patience for that kind of silliness, as if I’d pursue ungrateful rebels all over the kingdom. Unconditional love is a child’s fantasy! There are strings attached. You have to be rational about love, not emotional.”
The woman bites her tongue and wags her head. Anger burns in her eyes.
“Think of my love as a legal contract,” says the king, sounding stern and judge-like. “It’s not the irrational and capricious kind of love an unhinged parent gives a child who doesn’t deserve it. It’s a conditional love, ending at the stroke of midnight. So don’t choose wrongly!”
You take a deep breath and let it out slowly, considering the options. “It sounds like extortion,” you mumble under your breath, “not love.”
“Speak up so we all can hear,” says the king, raising his eyebrows with stern disapproval.
“What I mean to say is, ah …” you stutter, groping for words. “So does your offer end exactly at midnight or when it’s one second after?”
The crowd chuckles as the king throws back his head and laughs.
“Good question, my son. Good question. My grace is so extravagant,” he says in a confident voice, “that you will have until a second past midnight. That will give you a full second more to decide! And don’t forget that my love for you knows no bounds! My love is infinite … within reason. So don’t be stubborn. Accept my offer.”
A malevolent sneer crosses his face, communicating disapproval and condescension. You shrink and shiver, as if death itself has blotted out the sun.
“If you refuse me, don’t bother hiding because I … will … find … you.” The king glares with knives of terror in his eyes. “Good bye, children. Don’t make the wrong choice now. Peace and love! Shalom!”
With a bright smile, the king turns, waves and skips out of your life.
~~~~~~
God would never say, “I’m sorry you died. There is nothing I can do for you now. Death wins.” — William Paul Young[1]
His mercy endures forever. — Psalm 136
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. — Jeremiah 31:3
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Romans 8:38-39
Image by Eric Schmuttenmaer, Creative Commons.
[1] William Paul Young, Lies we Believe about God (New York: Atria Books, 2017).
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