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I generally quickly skim and delete
the many "forwards" from e-mail acquaintances. Most, I find, are
rather mindless lists or silly observations of low-brow humor.
Recently, the following forward caught
my eye and I read every word. The author was not identified. Give it a read and
see what you think.
After living a "decent" life, my
time on earth came to an end.
The first thing I remember was sitting by the
defense table in a courtroom.
I noticed that the prosecutor was a villainous-looking
guy who turned my way and snarled.
My lawyer was a kind-looking gent who, for
some reason, looked familiar.
We were all ordered to stand as in marched the
judge, a man who wore flowing robes and had an awesome aura about him.
"Let us begin," the judge ordered.
The prosecutor arose and declared, "My
name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man belongs in Hell."
He proceeded to tell of lies I told, about
things I had stolen, details of me cheating.
Satan spoke of other perversions that were
once in my life.
The more he revealed, the further down in the
chair I sank.
I was so embarrassed I couldn't make eye
contact with anyone.
The Devil told of sins even I had forgotten
about.
As upset as I was at Satan for airing all
these things, I was equally upset at my representative who remained seated and
silent and didn't challenge a thing.
I knew I was guilty of everything stated, but
what about the good stuff I had done in my life?
Didn't the good things kind of equal the
wrongful stuff?
Satan finished in a flurry, "This man
belongs in Hell! He is guilty of all that I have charged! There is not a person
who can prove otherwise!"
My lawyer eased to his feet and asked if he
could approach the bench.
Over loud objections of Satan, the judge
motioned him forward.
For the first time I was able to see him in
his full splendor and majesty.
I realized why he seemed so familiar.
This was Jesus representing me, my Lord and my
Savior.
He reached the bench and said softly to the
judge, "Hi Dad."
He then turned and spoke to the hushed
courtroom.
"Satan was correct in saying that this
man had sinned."
"I won't deny any of these
allegations."
"And, yes, the wage of sin is
death."
"This man does deserve to be
punished."
Jesus took a deep breath and turned to his Father
with outstretched arms and proclaimed, "I died for this man on the cross
so that he might have eternal life."
"He called out to me for My
salvation."
"His name is written in the book of Life,
and no one can snatch him from me."
"Satan still doesn't understand
that."
"This man is not to be given justice: He
is to be given mercy."
"There is nothing required of this
man."
"I completed his salvation."
The judge lifted his mighty hand and slammed
the gavel down.
"This man," he proclaimed, "IS
FREE!"
The penalty for him has been paid in FULL!
"Case dismissed!"
As my Lord escorted my from the courtroom, I
could hear a furious Satan seething, "I won't give up, I'll win the next
one!"
I turned to my Savior, Lord and Lawyer,
"Have you ever lost a case?"
Christ replied with a loving smile,
"Everyone that has come to me and asked me to represent them has received
the same verdict as you, 'PAID IN FULL!'"
Have you asked Christ to represent you in the
courtroom that precedes eternity?
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