The Three Servants
Copyright 1999 by author writing as "Amaranth Rose"
One day, three men who
belonged to the same church died, and found themselves waiting in line in
Heaven to see God. Finally, God called
the first man up to the throne and said, "Tell me what you did in life
with the gifts I gave you."
The man replied,
"Well, I was ver fortunate in life.
I made a great deal of money.
Everything I turned my hand to was very successful. So, from that wealth I gave large sums of
money every year to the church to beautify it and glorify it. Everything I had extra, I gave to the church
in your name."
God sighed slightly and
frowned a little. Then He turned to the
Clerk Angel seated near Him at a small table and said, "This man is a
tither. Send him where there are others
like him, that he may not want for companions."
The Clerk Angel nodded,
made a notation by the man's name, and pressed a button. Instantly a somewhat frazzled, tired-looking
messenger Angel appeared. The hem of
his robe was somewhat frayed, and his sandals looked very worn. He briskly led the first man away.
God called the second
man up to the throne and asked him the same question, "What did you do in
life with the gifts I gave you?"
The man answered
proudly, "Sir, I did not have much money, but I gave as much of my time as
I could to serve the church and those who belonged to it. I passed the collection plate and the
communion trays almost every Sunday, and did whatever was needed in the church
that I could do, whenever I could."
God looked a little sad,
but then He said to the Clerk Angel, "This man is a Deacon. Send him where
there are others like him, that he may not want for companions."
The Clerk Angel nodded,
made a notation by the man's name, and pressed a button. Instantly a second somewhat frazzled,
tired-looking messenger angel appeared.
He was, if anything, even more frayed looking than the first messenger
angel. His robes were threadbare in
places, and he impatiently twitched at his robes to cover his sandals. They were even more worn and shabby than the
first messenger’s sandals. He briskly
led the second man away.
Then God summoned the
third man, who by this time was feeling very uncomfortable, and asked him, "Tell me what you did in life with the
gifts I gave you."
The man looked down at
the floor and said, "Lord, I fear I have not done much at all. I was never rich, and I spent all my spare
time helping other people."
A look of keen interest
came across God's face, and He asked the man, "What kind of people did you
help?"
"All kinds of
people, Lord. Whomever I saw who looked
like they needed my help, I gave it to them.
I didn't stop to think what church they belonged to, or what they looked
like." The man still hung his
head. "I guess I haven't been a
very good servant to you in my time on Earth."
"On the contrary,
man," God's voice boomed with pleasure, "You have served me very well
indeed. You have taken the words of my
message, which I sent to you through my son, and you have made them become flesh. You have given of yourself to all people
without thought of becoming prominent or renowned. You have raised up the lowly and shown kindness to people others
often overlooked. You have given life
and meaning to the words, 'Love ye one another'. There aren't very many of your kind here, but I'm sure you'll
find them good company." And He
turned to the Clerk Angel and said, "This man is a Saint. Take good care of him."
The Clerk Angel nodded,
made several notations beside the man's name, and blew loudly on a horn that
hung from his belt. Instantly, a dozen
angels appeared. All of them looked
startled, and one in the rear was stifling a yawn and surreptitiously trying to
smooth down some stray feathers in its wings.
They were all dressed in very fine robes, and their sandals gleamed
brightly underneath the hems of their gleaming outfits. They began to lead the astonished man away.
Suddenly a great crowd of angels appeared near the
throne, all pointing at the man and questioning one another. One much smaller angel, arriving late, grew
frustrated because he could not see. He
tugged at the robes of a very tall angel.
“Lift me up! I want to see, too.”
The tall angel smiled
indulgently, and raised the little one onto his shoulder.
“Wow!” the little one
remarked. “I’ve never seen a real live
Saint before!”
The tall Angel smiled
broadly. “Neither have I,” he said
drolly.