In the world of the gods, Yawahooayah, or Ya as he liked to call himself, was a promising child. At the tender age of only 13 billion aeons he had already created a universe which was far in excess of anything that any of his peers could produce.

Firstly, his universe was in a state of natural evolution—something that was normally only required as part of an academy entrance course. Secondly, his universe contained intelligent life-forms which were capable of contemplating not only beings greater than themselves, but also the concept of infinity. Such heights were normally only achieved by the brighter junior academicians.

Yawahooayah certainly had a promising career ahead of him.

Unfortunately, being only a youngster, Ya was still somewhat emotionally unstable—or so his mentors believed. As they were at pains to point out, this resulted in his being prone to fall in love with his own creations. Most gods of his age were given baby deity to nurture and direct their affections towards, but Ya had never taken to this. Every time he had been placed in charge of an infant god he had ended up neglecting it in favour of his latest universe development project.

Eventually the Ruling Council decided to give Ya’s parent, Je-He, permission to allow Ya free reign in the Uni-Dev (Universe Development) laboratories—this despite the strongly held taboo against “the narcissistic behaviour of loving ones own creations”.

Ya was delighted. No longer did he have to bother himself with the tiresome business of changing divine nappies, and satisfying almighty appetites. Instead he could devote his rapidly developing intellect towards the intricacies of learning how to relate to his intelligent beings.

Of course, if the Council had known that this was what he was doing they would have banned him from universe development altogether. Becoming personally involved with one’s own finite ‘offspring’ was the deepest, most strongly held taboo of the lot. After all, it would hardly do if every universe created had to be eternally preserved just because it’s god had fallen in love with it. God-world may consist of an infinity of multi-dimensional work areas, but the job of keeping track of an increasingly vast array of complex universes within those work areas didn’t bear thinking about!

No, once any particular universe had out worn its usefulness its creator had to be able to dispose of it. One hoped that this would be done as humanely (or, perhaps one should say, as ‘godly’) as possible. Unfortunately, however, the more aggressive young gods tended to ignore this piece of divine protocol, and their leisure millennia were often spent taking part in noisy competitions to see who could cause their intelligent creations to ‘do themselves in’ in the most bloodthirsty and barbaric ways.

Although the aged sages on the Council frowned at this, they recognised the need for youth to ‘have its fling’ and they saw this practice as a successful, if somewhat ethically bothersome way of preventing the opposite extreme... which was the emotional mess that young gods sometimes got into when their ‘beloved’ creations had to be put down.

No... far better that the finite creations should suffer, than that their increasingly powerful creators should lose their way in frighteningly stressful emotional conflicts.

Indeed, more than one of the senior members of the Council could remember a time when a wretched young divinity had gone completely insane on seeing his beloved creations destroyed. It was even rumoured that a certain young god had had to be banished from divine society, having turned completely against his fellows after just such a traumatic experience. If the truth were told, though, it was suspected that his angst had been due more to his hurt pride than to his deep love for his finite progeny. Where that banished god was now, no-one knew... no-one except the all seeing Ultimate One.

Anyway, it’s about time we got back to Ya’s story. You see, Ya despised the more barbaric ways of most of the other young gods. He hated to see them create universes in which treachery, fear and loathing were the highest goals. He despised it when he saw them seducing their creations into adulating and worshipping them, and leading them a merry dance until they finally discovered that their ‘god’ was a malevolent being after all.

Thankfully, these horrific universes were eventually destroyed. However, he couldn’t contemplate that happening to his own universe... his special universe... the one into which he was pouring so much of his own heightened concepts of beauty and grace. Not only was he intellectually advanced beyond his peers, but he was also ahead of them emotionally and spiritually. Indeed, he often felt that he was being inspired as he poured his creative energies into his world.

He even dared to wonder, on occasions, if his ideas might not be coming from the Ultimate One himself.

So, Ya worked on his beautiful universe, moulding it and fashioning it, allowing evolution to do it’s work for billennia, and then stepping in, occasionally, to make a correction here or start a new process there.

Unbeknown, though, to the Council and to his peers, Ya was weaving into his universe the seeds of a new kind of relationship between the divine and the finite. He had determined, that with all of his efforts he would forge a revolutionary link with his beings—one based on trust and mutual admiration and love. He knew that this was both new and taboo, but he also sensed that he wasn’t doing it alone. He sensed that a higher power was guiding him, and he felt a desire growing within him, not only to be known and loved by his creations but also to know and love that Higher Power.

So, Ya worked, as billennia turned into billennia. He watched as a rudimentary society of intelligent beings was born on a specially developed planet. Deliberately he had created that planet as if on a knife edge—delicately and beautifully balanced with just the right constituents to support its life forms, both dumb and intelligent.

He watched as his creations increased in intellect and power over their surroundings, and eventually he felt that the time had come to introduce himself to them.

Somehow he didn’t think that would go down too well. He could see many of them dying of shock, and others telling him to sling his hook—not exactly the kind of reception he wanted to foster.

Well, what about allowing them to work themselves onto the verge of some kind of environmental calamity, and then stepping in and saying, "OK guys. The cavalry’s here!"

Would that produce the desired result?

Naa... it would be tacky, and anyway, they’d probably blame him for producing the calamity in the first place.

To be honest, he really didn’t want to make his entry too obvious. What kind of relationship would he have with them if he imposed his Godship onto them ‘from on high’. If he appeared too clearly as God they would have no choice but to be subservient to him, and he wasn’t looking for that kind of relationship at all.

Also, he knew that if he did that, he would end up becoming an object of their research... not a prospect he could look forward to with pleasure. Furthermore, they’d probably end up making images intended to represent him and then go to all sorts of ridiculous ends to worship those dumb things. What a mess that would be! He would have to withdraw simply to preserve his sanity, and so he’d become in their eyes just another myth for future generations to pour scorn upon.

No, what he really wanted was something quite different. Strange as it may sound, he actually wanted to be their friend. He wanted to have a mutually appreciative relationship with them. He wanted to come alongside them... he wanted to walk on their ground and breath their air... and He wanted to say to them, "There you are, you see. I’m not so bad after all!"

He wanted them to be able to learn about him, slowly, as they did about each other. He even wanted to be able to develop an intimate acquaintance with each individual, as they so desired. He longed to say to them:

"Surprising at it may seem, you really can trust me. I really am available to you—to each of you individually. Call on me and I’ll be there for you. Honestly and truly I will!"

To achieve that high goal it would be no use at all thrusting himself onto them from above. There was only one thing for it. He would have to appear as one of them, not in a great blaze of glory, but in a very low key fashion.

In fact, in order to make it clear that he was there for the lowliest of the low among them, he decided that he should appear in extreme poverty. He would have to live that way also, and he would have to suffer many of the things that they suffered so that no one could say that he was untouched by their grief.

This would produce several valuable bi-products. Firstly it would mean that the ‘high-and-mighty’ among them—those who were too big for their boots—would have to humble themselves in order to be able to appreciate him and relate to him. His very manner of coming to them would weed out those who lived in a false world in which they were their own god.

Secondly, appearing as a servant, rather than as a king, would raise the status of servant-hood, just as he desired it should. If he could help his creations to understand that serving each other was a far higher goal than dominating each other, he’d have achieved 90% of what he was setting out to do.

After all he was their Creator. He was their God. He was the only one who had the right to dominate anybody, and if he, their God, came and served them... well, that would really turn their world upside down now. Wouldn’t it?

Finally, by appearing as a man, and a teacher to-boot, their higher faculties would be called upon in order to be able to grasp him—to grasp his words and to grasp his character. They would have to work hard to understand the meaning of his coming and, once again, this would weed out the lazy and the ‘couldn’t-care-less’ among them.

Yes, Ya saw that this subtle plan would separate the men, and women, from the... from the sheep. It would reveal those who had minds and characters of their own—who could think for themselves and not just follow the crowd—and who had sufficiently sensitive and caring natures to be able to appreciate what he, their God, had done, and was doing, for them.

Yes, Ya was decidedly pleased with his plan.

Although seemingly very low key, this subtle dénouement would, in reality, be hugely earth shattering. It would sieve out the crass and boar-like from those with gentle good hearts. It would pave the way for him to raise a people, without barriers of race or culture... a people who would be his... who would relate to him as to a loved parent or friend... and even, dare he think it, as to a lover.

Yes, it was a good plan. In fact he’d had it in mind since the beginning. Needless to say, though, it had to wait for the right time to be put into effect.

His relationship with his creations was much like that of a parent with his child. In order to work with them realistically he had created a particular people group who were a role model, as it were, for the rest of the world.

Until now he had been ‘bringing them up’ through their infancy and early years. At first he had had to look after them in an intimate way... changing their nappies and clearing up their messes... and then, as they grew in intellect and power, so he had had to give them clear rules—do’s and don’ts—to prevent them from harming themselves. In so doing he had instilled a sense of order and self-control into their consciousness.

Now, however, it was time to expand his sphere of activity to include the whole of the populated world... something he knew his little darlings would not take to very easily. Like a first child adjusting to the presence of a new born, he knew they would throw serious temper tantrums. However, he calculated that they would come round sooner or later—though he suspected it would probably be the latter.

Yes, his people had almost reached their teens. Their Barmistvah was upon them and it was time to start a new relationship with them. No longer would he be a kind but stern father laying down the law. Now he would become their intimate mentor and teacher. They were about to enter into his school... his college of character building... one in which he would train them to become independent in thought and action.

Hopefully it would be an independence not built on belligerence and rebelliousness but on steadily maturing love and respect. He wanted his people—both the old and the new—to learn from him and to follow him, and his ways, out of love... not out of slavish obedience. He wanted them to become willing participants in his plans... active co-workers with him.

In this way he would finally achieve his ultimate goal—which was to abolish the old decaying universe and re-create it afresh, populated with an already mature and responsive people. His creations would no longer be mindless and unthinking like dumb animals. Instead they would understand him and truly appreciate him for all of his worth.

They would be a people worthy of his attention, and he would have all of eternity to teach them the wonders of God-world.

Worst of all, the usurper had gotten to a young couple who Ya had been fostering a special relationship with, and had turned them against him. Their compliance in his schemes meant that all of Mankind became virus ridden.

(It’s worth noting here that Ya called his creations by their true name— ‘Man-Kind’—for so he had made them. The other gods, however, thought of their creations as guinea pigs or toys, or something else equally demeaning.)

What was he to do? The Council ordered that his universe be terminated immediately, and but for the urgent intercessions of Je-He, that’s what would have happened. Thankfully Je-He understood the devastating effect that such a catastrophe would have had on Ya, but it was a salvation bought at a price.

Ya was all but made to start his prized planet over again. He had had to flood it completely and was only allowed to save one family, and a selection of the fauna and flora, after much angstful pleading on his part. Nevertheless, the virus, although greatly reduced in power, was not completely wiped out.

After that he had been faced with a very difficult challenge—one never before encountered by a fledgling god, or even a mature one for that matter. He now had the task of developing a universe, and an intelligent race, with an in-built self-destructive bent.

Most gods had to force their otherwise peaceful beings to fight each other when it was time to ‘shut things down’. Ya, on the other hand, had to control war to stop it getting out of hand.

This was a new venture for God-world and his experiment was watched with great interest... for a while. However, the gods weren’t renowned for their altruistic characteristics and they soon became bored with Ya’s painstaking efforts at reconstruction.

Having had to scrap plan A, it became clear that plan B would inevitably result in his becoming more deeply involved than he had initially anticipated. His experiment took on a whole new countenance. It now became a highly personal thing, and literally took over Ya’s whole life. It absorbed every minute of his time, and he could see that it would, sooner or later, absorb him... lock, stock and barrel.

Yes, it was clear that the only way to counter attack the ‘virus’ was by creating an antidote. Since a supernatural force for evil had been introduced into his world, a supernatural force for good would have to be injected in to counteract it.

There was still the little matter of the Ruling Council. What would they say and what would they do when they found out where he had gone? Perhaps they wouldn’t find out. Anyway, even if they did there wasn’t much they could do. They would hardly interfere for fear of harming him, and once he returned the job would be done.

Despite his misgivings, though, at a deeper level Ya was calm and collected. Somehow he was sure that the Ultimate One had everything in hand. In fact, in recent millennia he had begun to suspect that his relationship with this ‘One’ was rather different than that enjoyed by his fellows. For reasons he couldn’t quite understand he had begun to suspect that Je-He was not actually his real father.

If that was the case, then who was his real parent? As he examined his beloved universe and compared it to the paltry ones of his fellow gods... and then compared it to what he knew about the Ultimate One... slowly and inexorably the awesome truth came knocking, ever more strongly, on the door of his conscious mind.

Could he be... was it possible... somehow he knew that he would only discover the full truth after he had made the fateful step into his created world.

Already the first glimmers of a bright new dawn were rising on the horizon of his mind—a dawn which would herald a new era both for his world and for God-world. But the darkest part of the night was still to come and he trembled even as he felt an early breath of the cold touch which would bring him down and lay him low.

Carefully securing the laboratory entrance... locking himself in... Ya took a deep and apprehensive breath. The time had come. The moment was upon him. There was no turning back now. Everything hinged on his going through with the plan to the very end.

He closed his eyes and an awe inspiring sense of the presence of the Ultimate One swept over him, and into him. Almost without knowing what he was doing, he bowed his head... and he bowed his soul... and silently and stealthily he crept from the brightness of God-world into the darkness of an ovum within a woman’s womb.

The shadow of the valley enveloped him. With a sudden rush time became a powerful reality. Human weakness and frailty hit him like an express train. As a dove takes flight, so his all-knowing mind rose, stretched its wings, and flew away, and he slept the sleep of the unborn child.

Seconds passed into minutes... which passed into days... which passed into months. The cry of a new born child was heard. Months passed into years and the child became a man and grew strong and tall. Everyone saw that he was no ordinary being.

Then one day everything came to a head. Just as he had bowed down to enter a womb, so now he bowed again, this time beneath the surface of a muddy river. As before he felt the upsurge of an inner holy presence, and a voice spoke:

Yes, he had known it before, but now the last shadow of doubt was removed from his mind. He was, indeed, the Son of the Ultimate One!

The years passed as he deepened his communication with his Father. He taught the people with words of truth and deeds of love. In so doing he built that relationship with Man which he had so longed for in God-world.

His chosen followers learned... very slowly... but they did learn. Sadly though, as he had suspected, the religious leaders—leaders of the very religion which he himself had put into place—could not, or would not, learn. Indeed, they took it upon themselves to hound him... the very one they said they worshipped.

Inexorably, the event he had been dreading drew ever closer. But it was still a shock when it finally arrived. The decisive battle to de-bug the virus—to de-venom the serpent—had come.

Now, all of his authority and mighty resources as a divine being... yes, even as the Son of the Ultimate One... were not enough for the task before him. In great anguish of soul, once again he sought, and once again he found, power from above.

Bowing down a third time he stooped below the surface of another ‘muddy river’. But this time the water hurt... and like water his blood flowed freely. In pain and heart breaking grief he drowned in death, and sank down... deep, deep down... into dark dismal places.

Ah..... but things are never what they seem. There, in the pain-filled darkness and morbid gloom, he spoke life giving words to suffering souls, and in so doing he planted the antidote. Just as evil had penetrated his good world, so absolute goodness entered the halls of evil and shattered them. With a triumphant shout he grasped the keys of death from the limp hands of the deceiver and brandished them aloft!

And now... death could hold him no more than water can keep a life raft submerged. With a victory cry he sprang rushing up, out of the murky depths... up, up, up through ever clearing water... up, up, up breaking the surface, and up... up into the bright sunshine of his familiar God-world.

Or at least, familiar it had been. But now all was new. Gone were the abhorrent laboratories. Gone were the wretched demi-gods.

Instead angels flew and sang in vast choirs, and the throne of the Ultimate One descended from the pinnacles as He rose to receive His triumphant Son.

Now Ya... bar Jesus... saw the full impact of what he had accomplished —not only in His own universe but also in the vast expanses of God-World. Seated at the right hand of the One True God He saw the results of the ‘travail of His soul’ and He was satisfied.

Ya...weh had become Lord Christ and now reigned supreme.

Inspired by and filled with his Spirit, his followers began the task of carrying the antidote throughout His world. They still carry it today. That antidote is the priceless gift of God, and that antidote is effective for everyone who imbibes it.

Darkness continues to fight, but it knows that it’s days are numbered. In God-World Christ prepares a heavenly city—a New Jerusalem—for his followers to dwell in, while they below prepare a people fit to inhabit it.

Did the Uni-Dev laboratories ever really exist? Perhaps not. Did the demi-gods play their silly games? Perhaps not. But by Christ, and through Him, all things really were made.

Yes, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, really did become a man and preach and love and die for you and I. He really did descend to Hades and preach to lost souls, and he really did grasp the keys of death and rise to life again.

And now he is in Heaven preparing a place for me, and for you, if you’ll accept it. Reach out your arm of faith. Let the Divine Doctor inject the antidote of his Word into your oh-so-human flesh, with the syringe of his Spirit—before the venom destroys you.

Check in the mirror of his goodness and see the filth of your ‘hobo rags’. You’ve been a lonely wanderer with no place to call home. Let him wash you clean. Let him put a brand-spanking-new wedding suit on you, made perfectly to measure... and let him escort you, personally, into his wonderful palace. There your home will be... for evermore.

I beg you, please don’t pass up the chance. Be one of those who will revel in the profound happiness and joy of life in Ya-bar-Jesus’ New Jerusalem... for all eternity.

Receive the Son of the Ultimate One and he will receive you. Give yourself to him and he’ll give himself to you. Do it today because tomorrow may be too late.