Jesus
always used parables and He will help us to do so we can communicate in a way
people can relate to without feeling like you are "preaching at them"
If you have never been to a third world country,
and not the nice tourist places, your life is missing a dimension in terms of
understanding real poverty. I highly recommend everyone take a short term
missions trip to places where poverty is extreme. The poorest of the poor in
the United States live better than the people in many parts of the world.
Attitudes and the outlook on life vary just as drastically no matter where you
go or who you meet. This story takes place in a land where there is that severe
extreme between rich and poor, perhaps where there is a caste system creating
continuous and extreme poverty for many. Any similarity to real names is purely
coincidental, these characters are factious and no reference to ethnicity is
inferred no intended. The life lesson is perhaps the most
important lesson one can ever learn.
PLEASE DEAR
READERS, BE A BLESSING. No, don’t send me any money. If you are blessed by this
way of telling a familiar story, if your creative juices are sparked about how
to share God’s heart, or any meaningful reaction, please do more than click the like button on LinkedIn or Facebook. Your
input is as important to the other readers all over the world as the words that
I write. Write your comments in the box at the end so that I can easily publish
them for all to see regardless of the source of the link.
Ethan Rom was an extremely wealthy CEO of a
gigantic industrial construction company. His company built the complexes for
oil wells, pipelines, natural gas and also the buildings used for power
generation throughout the world. He had a big car, beautiful wife and three spoiled
brat kids. He was a ruthless business man, using every trick, legal or not, to
get jobs and build without regard to codes by bribery. Although he travelled
much of the time, his office was in a classic building that had once been a
castle on the outskirts of the city.
Every time Ethan drove through the gates leading to
his office building, he would stop to wait for the gate to open, lower his
window and spit his chewing tobacco at Lazzitt Burk. Lazzitt had been crippled
while working on one of Ethan’s construction projects and, unable to work
again, lost everything. Lazzitt sat at the gate playing his mandolin, case open
in from of him, hoping people passing by would throw him some money so he could
buy food for himself and his family. Sometimes his young daughter Shamie would
accompany him, singing with the sweetest voice and dancing. Although her
clothes were worn out and dirty by upper class standards, to Shamie her dress
was the prettiest dress in the world.
Years went by and nothing changed, except that Ethan’s
attitude got worse and Lazzitt mellowed with age. Lazzitt always had a certain
calm about him, an inner strength that was a source of encouragement to his
family and friends. Day after day, year after year Lazzitt would see that fancy
car come to the gate, listen to the obscene put-downs and see the spit hurled
his way. Ethan’s language got worse in his later years, he was a bitter, grumpy
old man not content with anything and disliked by most. One day there was a
massive earthquake. Thousands perished, many more than would have if Ethan
built those building to code. Lazzitt and Ethan were among the dead. The day of
reckoning for these men had come. The sources of their attitudes became
apparent. 
Face to face with eternity, Ethan panicked. He
pushed God away all his life and now he was facing the consequences. He saw an
eternity before him that was so much worse than the conditions Lazzitt lived in,
no one can imagine such eternal horror. He cried out to God to send Lazzitt
with something for him to drink, even one sip of water to give him some relief
from the heat and stench. The response was a resounding “NO WAY, you had
everything you wanted before and Lazzitt had absolutely nothing. You gave him
spit and obscenity for his great music and warm smile every day, you complained
about him to everyone you talked to day after day, after day, after day. Worse
than that, you pushed me away all your life. I tried to reach you with My love day
after day, after day, after day for many years. I took it personally every time
you spit at Lazzitt. Now you want me to help you? Sorry, it’s too late for
that, you ignored thousands of chances.”
“OK God,” Ethan pleaded, “I understand but how
about sending Lazzitt to warn my family. My kids are just like I was, my
brother is worse. “
God’s response scared Ethan even more when HE said,
“I’ve been reaching out to them all their lives just like I did you, let’s see
if they ever respond and accept MY love and let ME help them turn their lives
around.”
“Oh, but, but, but, God, surely if someone came
back from death and told them they would get the message.”
Again, God’s response further crushed Ethan when HE
said, “If they won’t listen to what God loving people say, if they don’t recognize
MY glory in creation, if they never respond to my loving arms stretched out to
them they will not respond even if a dead man comes to life and talks to them
face to face.”
Face to face with eternity, Lazzitt was overwhelmed
with joy. Lazzitt had walked with God since his brush with death in the
accident and his nurse introduced him to the Lover of His Soul. Lazzitt’s
daughter also died in the earthquake. Now she was beautifully clothed in the
whitest white dress, adorned with jewels and gold, as they joined with the
angels singing and dancing before their Heavenly Father.
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