A Tale as True as Time

Once upon a time, there lived a benevolent King in a beautiful palace, whose walls were etched with gold and fine jewels.

The king was loving and generous and creative with the gift of life-giving, but the kingdom was empty. Could a king truly be loving, if they had no one to love? Could a king truly be generous, if they had no one to be generous towards? Could a king truly be creative and life-giving, if they had no proof of their creation?

Therefore, the King created an amazing land, full of life and potential, and filled it with people. Though the King could have easily made the people servants or slaves, bond to follow His will and His ways, the King instead extended grace to the people and let them decide what kind of people they would be. 

Choose your king, the King said, and you will live with me forever.

Well, just as with any kingdom, this kingdom had rules and structure. The most important of the rules was that the people could only swear their allegiance to the one true King, not to anyone or anything else. They were to hold their allegiance to the King above every other concern or desire. The second most important rule was that the people should treat one another with the same kind of love and grace as the King treated them.

At first, the people were happy with these rules. They swore their allegiance to the King, and they showed love to each other.  Little by little, however, discontent begin to grow. Grumbling rose among the people. Why should the King get to make all the rules? After all, wasn't it the people themselves who had grown and cultivated the kingdom? And even though they had sworn their allegiance, they began to break the rules.

At first, it was merely small things, things done in the dark where no one would see them. But then they got bolder and began breaking the rules even in the daylight. The people who were still following the rules, tried to warn them, telling them to turn back to the King, but they didn’t listen. They liked their new way. They liked the feeling of giving allegiance to someone else, other than their King.

Some of them pledged allegiance to the kingdom itself.

Some of them pledged allegiance to one of the first rule-breakers, who said he could lead the kingdom better than their King.

Some of them pledged allegiance to their own selves, their own wealth and possessions or their own desires.

Overtime, more and more people, even though they still lived in the kingdom, were not following the rules. They did not honor the King, they did not love one another, and they did things which were hurtful to the land of the kingdom, to themselves, and to others. Some of them still attended the King's ceremonies. They even still repeated the oath of allegiance, thinking that that was enough. They didn’t realize that reciting the words while not meaning them in their hearts nor living them with their lives, was meaningless. Mere empty promises and broken vows. 

Some felt guilty and wanted to turn back, but they were afraid that the king would be angry with them. They did not realize that the king was not so much angry as sad. When the people bowed before other things, it hurt them. The King wept as he saw the suffering of the people. The kingdom had everything they needed to not only live but to thrive, but their selfishness and rule-breaking had left them and others bereft.

In an effort to win back the people, the King decided to send the Prince out among them.

At first, the people didn’t recognize the Prince as the King's Son. Yet as He walked among them and taught about the rules and helped people with a gift much like the King's life-giving gift and served even the outcasts, they begin to recognize in Him the very characteristics that they knew the King to be.

You should be in charge! The people told Him. You should be our king!

No, He said. I will not take the place of my Father. I am merely here to show you how to live in the kingdom so that you may have all the blessings the King has promised you. Turn from your ways and turn back to the King.

Well, that made them angry. They didn’t like the implication that they were not doing what they were supposed to be doing. They didn’t like that He wanted only the King. So, they killed Him.

When the King found out, soldiers were sent to collect the Son’s body and bring it back to the palace. The King used the creation and life-giving power to bring the Son back to life.

The Son went back one last time to the people. See? He said. Your King is powerful. He is the only one who is worthy of your honor and allegiance. Live as I have showed you. Then you will have peace in your heart and be able to stay in the land that God has given you.

He returned to the palace. Generations passed. Some listened and obeyed. Others, did as they wanted. They used their own creation power - only a faint forgery of the King's - to build up their own wealth and possessions, and to build up their own kings, trying to establish their own kingdom. They forgot that since everything in the land belonged to the true King, none of it actually belonged to them at all, and was merely a mirage.

Then one day trumpets blew from the palace, loud enough to be heard all across the land. The King's soldiers went through the people and sorted them. Those who had kept the rules, who had maintained their oath of allegiance to the King and had shown love to others, were rewarded tenfold, and there was peace among them. Those who had not, who had forsaken their oath to the King by giving allegiance to themselves, to other things, or to other people, those who had forsaken their love of others, were cast out of the kingdom.

There was nothing outside of the kingdom. Barren land where nothing would grow. A scorching sun that never set. But the people could live there as they had desired in the kingdom - free of rules, free of oaths, free to pursue their own interests and desires. Only, turned out, they did not enjoy this freedom as much as they thought they would, and there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth.

No one could say the King was unfair to do this. The entire kingdom belonged to the King and had been offered to all people equally. But many of the people hadn't wanted it. They hadn't wanted their King.

On the contrary, in judgement, the King was viewed not only as loving and generous and creative, but also, as just.

And all was well in the land.