Animosity and Apple Cider
Two representatives of Christ walked down the darkened and
cold street; despite the dreary night which had begun to fall they kept a smile
on their faces and God’s love in their hearts.
They hoped to find a child of God willing to hear about their elder
brother Christ. They hoped to invite
them to follow Him as He is the only one who knows the way to eternal
happiness. Eternal happiness, the thing
which they desired all their brothers and sisters to have.Most of the doors
which they knocked upon remained silent and unanswered.
Finally the representatives of Christ knocked on a door which
was answered. The first door of the
night opened to reveal a friendly man, a cross prominently mounted on a wall
behind him. Cheerful ‘hellos’ and
introductions took place, Christ’s loyal disciples began to ask if he would be
interested to learn more of Him when another came to the door. She took one suspicious look at their tidy,
simple clothes and the book held in their hands -- missing their gentle smiles
-- she began to shoo them away, fluttering her hands as she would when shooing
an annoying cat. “Go! Go! You need to
go, now!”
A moment or two of stunned silence passed and a soft ‘okay’
was followed by the door slamming shut.
Feeling terribly hurt and depressed the followers of a loving Christ
turned and walked away, their shoulders hunched in rejection. They hoped someday she would find happiness,
they wished they could offer that priceless gift but they could not work with
such anger.
Little success was met that cold night, until they plucked
up their last strands of courage and knocked on the door of a beautiful,
mansion-like home. ‘Surely,’ they
thought, ‘no rich man or woman would have the time nor would care to hear our
humble message…’
With a trembling hand the first knocked on the beautiful
door and the second was braced for the rejection. A smiling face opened the door and listened
carefully to their offered message, the elderly lady explained she was happily
atheist but soon after said, “It’s very cold out! Come in for a while and warm
yourselves.”
They spoke with the delightful lady’s husband about their
purpose as messengers of Christ while she left the room for a moment. The gentle, aged lady appeared with tokens of
Christlike gifts for the unexpected visitors.
The disciples of Christ were kindly sent off with warm, homemade, apple
cider and a small bag of ginger cookies after a few more minutes of friendly
conversation. The night and day
difference between the neighbors on the very same street was a surprising but
welcome one to Christ’s steadfast servants; their hearts were comforted and
filled with joy by the strangers’ compassionate reception despite their disinterest
in religion.
Suddenly the night seemed warmer to them, the
representatives of Christ could feel they had been successful that night in
sharing the Lord’s love and uplifting their Father’s children.
People who live in our day and age say, “If I had lived in
the days of old, I would not have turned away Paul, or mocked Noah, or ignored
Moses, I know they were prophets of God.
I would have accepted and listened to Jesus Christ.”
There are modern day prophets on this earth here and
now. They, like every prophet of God,
have the Priesthood which is the power of God and the authority to use it. They, like every prophet, are criticized,
mocked and rejected more than they are accepted. Many fail to see the truth they carry as they
have for thousands of years.
Representatives of
Jesus Christ are also here called by God, now and today. They are searching for you, they seek to help
you and love you as Christ would, their only purpose is to bring you closer to
Him. Many people ridicule, ignore and
reject them on a daily basis. Much of
the world refuses to see the love of Christ shining in their countenances, even
when the name of Christ is pinned close to their heart.
Will you send His messengers away? Or will you let His faithful followers serve
you and teach you more about Him, as Jesus Christ would have when He dwelt on
this earth?
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