|
| |
The
Birdcage
Author Unknown
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. "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." "And what are you going to
do with them now?"
The man grinned, "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 $45.00 and
that jacket you're wearing." The boy paused, that was all he had, and the jacket
was new and very special, in fact it was his prized possession. Slowly, he took
out the money 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 he opened
the door and let the birds go free.
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'm 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. Believe it or not, Jesus Loves You!
"For God so Loved the
world, he gave his only Son, that who ever believes in him shall not perish but
have everlasting live." John 3:16
Press
the "Back" button on your browser to return to the list of stories.
|
