The Trial
After living a "decent" life, my time on earth came to an end.
The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room
of
what thought to be a court house. The doors opened and I was
instructed to come in and have a seat by the defense table. As I looked
around
I saw the "prosecutor", he was a villainous looking gent who snarled
as
he stared at me, he definitely was the most evil person I have ever
seen. I sat down and looked to my left and there sat my lawyer, a kind
and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed very familiar to me.
The corner door flew open and there appeared the judge in full
flowing robes. He commanded an awesome presence as he moved across the
room and I couldn't take my eyes off of him. As he took his
seat behind the bench he said, "Let us begin."
The prosecutor rose and said, "My name is Satan and I am here to
show you why this man belongs in Hell." He proceeded to tell of lies
that I told, things that I stole and in the past when I cheated
others. Satan told of other horrible perversions that were once in my
life and the
more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank. I was so embarrassed
that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own lawyer, as the Devil told
of
sins that even I had completely forgotten about.
As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me,
I was equally upset at my representative who sat there silently, not
offering any form of defense at all. I know I had been guilty of those
things, but I had done some good in my life - couldn't that at least
equal out part of the harm I've done?
Satan finished with a fury and said "This man belongs in Hell, he
is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person who
can prove otherwise."
When it was his turn, my lawyer first asked if he might approach
the bench. The judge allowed this, over the strong objection of
Satan, and beckoned him to come forward. As he got up and started walking,
I was able to see him now in his full splendor and majesty. Now I
realized why he seemed so familiar, this was Jesus representing me,
my
Lord and my Savior. He stopped at the bench and softly said to the judge
"Hi
Dad" and then he turned to address the court.
"Satan was correct in saying that this man had sinned, I won't
deny any of these allegations. And yes, the wage of sins is death and
this man deserves to be punished." Jesus took a deep breath and turned
to
his Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, "However, I died on
the cross so that this person might have eternal life and he has
accepted me as his Savior, so he is mine."
My Lord continued with "His name is written in the Book of Life
and no one can snatch him from me. Satan still does not understand
yet, this man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy." As Jesus
sat
down, he quietly paused, looked at his Father and replied, "There is
nothing else that needs to be done, I've done it all."
The Judge lifted his mighty hand and slammed the gavel down and
the following words bellowed from his lips, "This man is free - the
penalty for him has already been paid in full, case dismissed."
As my Lord led me away I could hear Satan ranting and raving, "I
won't give up, I'll win the next one!" I asked Jesus as he gave me
my instructions on where to go next, "Have you ever lost a case?"
Christ lovingly smiled and said, "Everyone that has come to me and asked me to represent them has received the same verdict as you . . . Paid in Full." In this world of terrible hurt, pain, suffering, and extreme self-centered focus to the exclusion of everyone else, there are times when logic, thought, discussion, etc. do nothing. It is in these times that I have learned that I have only one place to turn to ease the pain.
- Author Unknown -