Story - Part 1

“Enemy-occupied territory – that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say has landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign in sabotage.” ~ C.S. Lewis (http://christianquotes.org/search/quick)
Once upon a time, beyond time, and through all time, there was a King. Now this King established a Kingdom for Himself. However, at one point, one of the highest ranking lords in His Kingdom rebelled against Him, seeking to take His place as King. This lord was exiled from the Kingdom, along with all of his followers. The King was very powerful, and could have slain the lord and all of his followers with no effort on His part. However, He chose to use a method to bring about victory that, in the beginning, seemed to be rather foolish and weak. But in the long run, if it worked, it would bring great glory to the King. Now, a brief description of this King is in order. He was a very just, yet merciful King. He was powerful, infinite, and immortal. In His power, He created for Himself beings that shared many characteristics with Him. They were intelligent, emotional, and willful. They could love, and in return, desired love. He granted them free choice, to determine who they would love, and, ultimately, serve. However, they were finite, with limited power and understanding. It was with these weak creations that the King would defeat His opponent. Now, of course, the rebel lord hated the King, and for that matter, anything that was dear to the King. So he targeted the weak creatures for destruction. He thought if he could corrupt these beings than the King’s justice would require Him to destroy His creation. Of course, he was correct in this. As I said, the King was a just king. This is exactly what happened. The weak creatures were seduced and betrayed by the rebel lord, and were forced to accept the King’s punishment, although it grieved Him greatly. Now, you might ask, “What of the King’s great plan?” You would be correct to ask this. Well, He knew before hand that His creation would be tarnished through what would become known as the Great Deception, and He was ready for this. Thousands of years passed. The rebel lord continued to plague those who had been designed to be the King’s followers. Many of them became followers of the rebel lord, whether they meant to or not. Some were deceived into following the enemy’s lies. Some simply were so surrounded by corruption and deception that they didn’t know what to believe. They created many “kings” for themselves; beings that they worshipped as their creator and lord. However, there remained a few who sought the True King, and sought to follow and serve Him. Out of these, the King developed the solution to cure the rebellion brought about amongst His people.
I invite you back next time to learn exactly how the King defeated His enemy and intervened on behalf of His people! This is the beginning in a short series, which I am using as the background for what I believe has the power to change how you look at life. Join me over the next two weeks or so as I offer a challenge to engage life with a new sense of purpose and destiny.