1 My friends I am writing to bring
you the good news of our Lord, Jesus Christ; and, to tell you of
the remarkable events that happened in the fortieth year of my
life. God delivered me twice from death, and now I am writing to
reveal His majesty and love.
Verily God is compassionate, God is merciful, God is lenient, God
is wise, all knowing. He knows what is in our hearts, He knows
what is in our minds. He is the Lord of all Worlds. Blessed be
the name of the Lord.
2 Here begins my journey inward: Having been consumed by excess
and sin for decades, I was full of the world and the world was
full of me. I had devoted my life to indulgence, and the idolatry
of money. Material things ruled me, and I worshiped the physical
pleasures of this world. It was at this moment that the most terrible
and wondrous of events happened. At the twilight of spring a robber
attempted to murder me. His attempt failed, I crippled him, and
he would later die from the wounds I inflicted. The Lord had saved
me from the wrath of man, but not from myself.
The authorities were quick to assess blame, and punish the poor
man, but this is not a story of man's law - it is a story of God's
Law, of God's love, and the suffering of Jesus Christ.
The world wished me to proclaim my heroic deed. I had prevented
a horrible crime, and delivered justice to the criminal with my
own hands. The world descended on me. People wished to know the
sordid details of the destruction of human life; people patted
me on the back; people told me what choice did I have; people hoped
through me to express their rage.
My soul was crushed. I had destroyed a man. I had taken life.
Life is fragile and |
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life has a thin veneer. It can be taken
by God at any moment, without our realizing what is happening. Life
is precious. Beware! Man's valuable soul is contained within a contemptible
body.
The Lord's miracles appear when they are least expected. Christ
comes to many clandestinely and in stealth. He whispered in my
thoughts and dreams. He listened, he did not talk. I wished only
for him to go away, but I also wished only to be with him. I desired
to return to my sinful life. I wished to ignore the sick, the persecuted,
the oppressed. I wished to ignore all of those who had nothing
to offer me. But, without Jesus, I could only perceive the world
as a horrible monstrous place, full of pain and suffering. I begged
God to forgive me, and to release me from my pain.
3 At the arraignment, the robber arrived a broken man. He could
barely walk with a cane, his speech was slurred, his family showed
the distress of his future incarceration. His lawyers explained
to the Court that he would soon die from the wounds I inflicted.
The Magistrate asked if I had any thing I wanted to say before
sentencing the accused. It was at this moment that Christ revealed
himself to all present in the Court. The accused and myself walked
toward each other and embraced. We asked each other for forgiveness,
and the world stopped. I felt hundreds of hands on my back, and
the love of God holding us both up for the world to see - persecutor
and persecuted, oppressor and oppressed, criminal and victim, brother
and brother. As we had forgiven each other, the Father had forgiven
us. Jesus was the Christ. We had all been witnesses to Christ as
the Father.
4 Months passed and I could not sleep or eat. But, the
world was no....
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