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A man was on the side of the road with a large
birdcage. A boy noticed that the cage was full of birds of
many kinds.
"Where did
you get those birds?" he asked.
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"Oh,
all over the place, " the man
replied. "I lure them with crumbs, pretend I'm
their friend then when they are close, I net them and shove
them into my cage."
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"And what are you going to do with them
now?"
The man grinned,
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"I'm going
to prod them with sticks, and get them really mad so they
fight and kill each other. Those that survive, I
will kill. None will escape." |
The boy looked steadily at the man. What made
him do such things? He looked into the cruel, hard eyes.
Then he looked at the birds, defenseless, without hope.
"Can I buy those birds?"
the boy asked.
The man hid a smile, aware that he could be on to a
good thing if he played his cards right.
"Well," he said
hesitantly, "The cage is pretty
expensive, and I spent a lot of time collecting these birds.
I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll let you have the lot, birds,
cage and all for ten pounds and that jacket you are wearing."
The boy paused, ten pounds was all he had, and the
jacket was new and very special, in fact it was his prized
possession. Slowly, he took out the ten pounds and handed it
over, then even more slowly he took off his jacket, gave it one last
look then handed that over too.
And then (well. you guessed it) he opened the door
and let the birds go free.
Moral of the Story
The
Enemy of the World, Satan, was on the side of life's road with a
very large cage. The man coming towards him noticed that it
was crammed full of people of every kind, young, old, from every
race and nation.
"Where
did you get these people?" the man asked.
"Oh,
from all over the world," Satan replied. "I
lure them with drink, drugs, lust, lies, anger, hate, love of
money and all manner of things. I pretend I am their friend,
out to give them a good time, then when I've hooked them, into the
cage they go."
"And
what are you going to do with them now?" asked the man.
Satan
grinned.
"I'm going to prod them, provoke them, get
them to hate and destroy each other; I'll stir up racial
hatred, defiance of law and order; I'll make people bored,
lonely, dissatisfied, confused and restless."
"It's
easy. People will always listen to what I offer them and
(what's better) they blame God for the outcome!"
"And
then what?" the man asked.
"Those
who do not destroy themselves, I will destroy.
None will
escape me."
The
man stepped forward. "Can I buy these people from
you?" he asked.
Satan
snarled, "Yes, but it will cost you your life."
So
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, paid for your release, your freedom
from Satan's trap, with His own life, on the cross at Calvary.
The door is open, and anyone, whom Satan has deceived and caged,
can
be set free.
"Therefore,
if the Son makes you free, you are free indeed.."
John 8:
36
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