The King's Decree & The Man Like Me

One day, in a Kingdom called Lively, orders went out from the highest court. It proclaimed to every transgressor one thing:  the King was willing to wipe their slate clean.

And no matter who cried, "Guilty!" they could not override the written decree. It was forgiveness to the extreme. Unheard of favor. Written and announced for ALL to hear and see:

 "Forgiveness goes to the least of these! 

ALL are forgiven under this King. 

All they must do is come and ask for His mercy." 

The people of the village, the lowest of the low, peeked their heads out from below. "Forgiven? Even me?" said the robber to his wife that he had cheated on with so many. 

"Forgiven? Even me?" said the cook to his customers who had cheated them out of their money!

"Forgiven? Even me?" said the woman with 7 children, who was cruel to every one of them, and thought it to be funny.

Yes! Forgiven! For anyone who pleads!

But, some surprisingly, did not take heed. They heard the decree but did not want to leave. Leave their burrows, their hidden places of sin. They did not want to admit anything they had committed for fear they would actually be condemned!

But the decree did not declare this. No, there would be no condemnation for them. Only humility would be required, an act of contrition. 

The village people came and assembled to discuss. "Who will go to the King and take him up on this?"

Some were eager, but some were not. Some wondered why they were even bothered by this ridiculous thought. For many did not see themselves as guilty at all! They were like a bandit who was offended when he was caught and took the fall.

But no matter their response, the decree still stood. ANYONE could be forgiven. ANYONE from the 'hood.

And then came forth a lonely man whose crime could not be hidden. He had lived with guilt and shame and tarnished was his name among all men and women. Every person took him to be the 'bad man' of the village. And so this reputation stuck and convinced even him of this image. He hardly left his house and when he did it was at night. Oh, how deep was his shame. His days were stripped of joy and life. 

But this man heard the decree, as well. He heard it from his self-imposed prison cell. He heard about the King who would forgive Him of it all. And he just had to come out and see if there was any truth in it at all. 

"Yes," the village people told him. "It says you'll be forgiven." But they scoffed at him and told him that he was beyond this kind of pardon, based on his severe situation.

But the man did not listen. To the scoffers, he did not listen. He knew the decree held more weight than their obnoxious cynicism. 

So the man picked up and left, leaving his prison cell behind him. Letting go of self-protection, he put his hope in the promise before him.

When he arrived at the castle, he noticed a line. It turned out he wasn't the only one hoping for the forgiveness they would find. He looked around and noticed all of their expressions. So many were worn out from the weight of their deep convictions. They all had carried their guilt for so long that their faces were sad and their voices stopped singing love songs!

"I'm not alone, am I?" said the man to himself. "And when I think of it, who is without any guilt?? Haven't we all fallen short in some way or another? No one is perfect. No sister, no mother, no father, no brother. We all need forgiveness, and there's no room to judge one another."

It all started clicking in the man's spinning mind. "The King is doing what none of us can do -- no one in mankind! The King is forgiving and wiping the slate clean! Everyone should be rushing to Him! This gesture is extreme!!"

So, as soon as it was his turn to stand before the throne, he threw himself before His Majesty and repented of every sin of his own!

The King, in all His graciousness, stepped down to meet the man. He lifted his chin and said, "Son, all is forgiven.”

photo: Copilot