quietly doing God's work and think
nobody ever notices. In these quiet
souls - we can most clearly see
Jesus. YOU can click on the picture
to go back to the Stories Page
entered the room. Every eye turned toward the Judge who now sat straight and tall behind the
enormous crystal podium.
He looked down at the defendant, who practically vanished into the huge red leather seat in which
he sat.
The old man's frail shoulders were bowed over and his fingers picked at the unfamiliar silken
garments in which he was clothed.
The Judge turned His attention toward the Prosecution's desk.
A thick set manlike creature stood there glowering in a heavily sequined suit that reflected the
cadaverous color of his face and neck.
The Prosecutor appeared almost human, but something about him immediately gave way to a
darker presence even the worst of humanity was pushed to equal.
A thick folder was in his hand, his long claws tightly clutching it to his chest. Putrid pea green
saliva drooled from his ugly mouth as he glared at the defendant.
The old man caught his eye and shuddered. He clutched at the loose skin on his neck, as a vivid
mental picture of his own frail body swinging from the vice like grip of the Prosecutor's claws
formed in his mind.
"That's enough!" the Judge's deep voice boomed across the room.
The Prosecutor flinched as though struck, and muttered under his breath, but he didn't fix his
gaze on the old man again.
"Is the Prosecution ready?
Turning frigid eyes to the front of the room, the creature addressed his reply to the podium,
carefully avoiding direct eye contact with the Judge.
"Yessssss" he hissed.
The old man squirmed uncomfortably in the chair.
He looked around the room.
Not one familiar face.
A solitary tear trickled down and he fought back the lump in his throat.
His wife and their only child had died in a car accident just two weeks ago. His wife knew Jesus
but his daughter did not and he'd warned her she would end up in hell. It had been the same old
argument the afternoon she stormed from the house. His wife Elizabeth followed her and hoping
to calm her daughter down, suggested they go for coffee down town.
He chose to stay home and mow the lawn rather than face yet another confrontation.
The two lights of his life died on their way home that night, their lives cut short by a drunk driver.
At his funeral people said that he died of a broken heart and he was certain it was true.
He was a failure through and through. His precious daughter lost forever because of him.
The witnesses watching him, nudged each other, smiling and whispering softly. A warning glance
from the podium caused them to straighten up and sit silently in anticipation.
"Very good. We shall proceed then. Please state your case against this man."
With an evil grin, the accuser shook the thick folder in the air.
"Here we have a man who claims to be one of Your children, Your Honor."
He shuddered at the term of respect, but he knew better than not to use it.
"I'm here to prove beyond doubt that this man is useless. He's a waste of Your time and an insult
to Your Son's Crucifixion."
He paused, letting his words sink in, as his over sized head bobbed and nodded on his shoulders
like a ridiculous doll.
He swept his arm into the air and paced around to the front of the desk.
"In fact, yes in fact, when he died he actually presented himself at my dungeon door, so sure was
he that he had no right to enter Your kingdom! If Your angels hadn't taken him up in their arms,
he would be there yet! He is rightfully mine!"
The old man could hear his raspy breathing as he stepped closer, and smelled the foul odor of
his breath.
He tore his frightened eyes away from the creature and dared a quick glance at the Judge but He
was looking across the room.
"Objection."
All eyes turned to the tall man who slipped into the room and was standing there in a pure white
silk suit. His face was so bright, and the suit so radiant the defendant had to shield his eyes at
first but they quickly grew accustomed to the light. He couldn't help notice the plain hemp sandals
that covered two nail scarred feet.
God looked at His Son with deep love in His eyes.
"You have an objection to the charges Son?"
"Yes Father, I do. Satan is lying."
A loud guffaw broke forth from the beast in the suit.
"I have the evidence! This man has not personally led one single person to Christ in fifty years!
He's not a Christian!"
Jesus' rich laughter echoed around the courtroom.
"Satan, you know full well that the matter of this man's salvation is not the issue that brings us
here today. It is because of his belief in your lies that we stand in session today.
As hard as it is for a liar and deceiver such as yourself, let's stand on the truth here.
It is not by good works alone that any man enters My Father's Kingdom. The Word says he has
been bought with a price. He belongs to God. That is in One Corinthians, Chapter..."
"I know where it is!" Satan seethed. "But wait until you see what I have here! I started keeping
this record when he was born! Let's see - October 29th 1941 he kicked a cat, June 5th 1942 -
swore at his sister......" He grinned, as his tongue slithered over a mouthful of jagged spiked teeth
and he flipped through the thick pages.
"But here, the real juicy stuff starts in 1960. Especially the part about his encounter with the
young lady at the beach and what was going through his mind. Why don't you take a look
yourself!" he hissed.
He thrust the well-worn folder at Jesus.
Jesus ignored it and addressed His Father instead.
"This man is already a citizen of heaven, though convinced he belongs to the enemy's camp. He
allows himself to stand accused, condemned and convicted of crimes that no longer belong to
him."
"Objection sustained."
"I too have a record of every wrong, every sin, that stands recorded in Your book of Life Father,
and I have a certified copy of that very record right here."
Satan leaned forward and snatched the single sheet of parchment from Jesus' outstretched hand.
A snarl formed on his hideous face. He tore at the sheet with his claws and threw it to the floor.
"There is nothing written on this sheet!"
As the torn paper floated gracefully down, it brushed against Satan's foot. Igniting spontaneously,
it flared briefly and collapsed into a small pile of ashes on the courtroom floor.
"That's right Satan. We have no sin recorded against this child of Ours. He was always quick to
repent and the Holy Spirit worked mightily through him."
"Ha! Mightily indeed!" Satan kicked furiously at the small pile of smoldering ash by his foot.
"Father" Jesus said. "Here is a man who loves with Your own heart. I have some witnesses I'd like
to call."
Jesus beckoned to one of the people waiting in the gallery.
The woman was dressed in a gown that shone like a silvery moon on a warm summer's night. It
rippled and glowed as she walked up and stood in front of Jesus.
The old man hastened to offer his seat, for there was no other.
"It is she who gave up the seat to you, My brother." Jesus said.
He sank back down, confused.
The woman turned with a humble bow to the Judge, before addressing the accuser who sat
twisting his head around, impatiently drumming the desk with long claws.
"Accuser, I stand before you, God as my witness, to tell you that you have no right to claim this
child of God!" she said.
She glanced back at the wide eyed defendant.
"You might not know me now, but you and I have spent many hours together. My name is Mercy,
and I have been often called to your side."
The old man gazed at her. Did he know this beautiful creature?
She turned back to face the Judge.
"Almighty God. This is a man after Your own heart. One late November day years ago, he was
walking to the subway after work when a disheveled old man in a large baggy steel grey trench
coat brushed past him and snatched the shoe box he was carrying underneath his arm. It
contained a present he had bought for his wife, a pair of Nike runners she had wanted for her
birthday and his wallet. He dropped it into the box in his rush to catch the train. He gave chase
but lost him a few blocks down.
"Three days, he was stunned to see the same old man collapsed in a small alleyway by the
subway station as people rushed by him. He knew him at once from the brand new shoes on his
feet and the old coat. Homeless, a diabetic and an alcoholic, and suffering a heart attack, he was
only moments from death when Your child found him. Others rushed by, giving them both a wide
berth.
He called an ambulance and the old man's life was saved. The police returned his wallet found in
the old mans belongings and asked him if he wanted to press charges but he refused."
"So what? Who cares. Big deal!" Satan snorted.
Mercy sighed. "I haven't finished yet. Your child, Father, went back that night and spoke to the
other homeless men as they gathered in the alley down town around an old drum fire. He found
out the man's name, Joe, and then searched until he found the man's son. Tom hadn't seen his
father in years but a relationship was restored between them. Meanwhile our defendant made a
second visit to the alley the next night, taking new shoes and clothing with him for them all and
handing them out to the astonished men."
Satan picked a small axe out of his briefcase, and began to hack away at the ends of his claws
with it, leaving ugly raw gash marks in the oak table in front of him.
"Bet they weren't Nikes" he snickered.
"Actually yes, they were." Mercy offered.
Satan rolled his eyeballs into the back of his skull, stared up at the ceiling and began to chant.
"Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and
light is dark; that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Destruction is certain for those who say that
evil is.."
Jesus laughed out loud and every eye in the room turned to look at Him, except Satan.
"I never thought I would see the day where you felt brave enough to quote My Father's Word in
His Own Court, Satan! Let's try this one instead." Jesus said.
"Then the Devil, who betrayed them, was thrown into the lake of fire that burns with fire, along with
the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
What do you think? Any objections to Revelation Chapter 20 verse 10? It is Case Law by the
way and one previous Ruling that will never be overturned!"
Satan was silent.
God nodded His approval and ignored the soft laughter that came from the witness benches.
"Please continue Mercy." He said.
Mercy continued. "After the war, and horrified by the mindless torture he had seen, Joe turned to
alcohol to numb the pain and slipped away from his family, a shell of the man they once knew.
Joe earned a Purple Heart and a Medal of Honor during his war service. That family were given
the chance to spend six months with him before he died. His grandchildren got to know the man
they had only heard stories about."
"Pathetic thief and liar that he was! He should have been in jail for that six months!" Satan
interjected.
"Yes, we know Satan. But Joe was starving and cold that night in the city and deeply regretted his
actions once he was sober again. After his death, when Joe's family sat down to talk about 'the
good Samaritan', which is what they called our friend here, they decided they wanted to know
more.
They'd never met a 'Christian' before who spoke so little and yet said so much. He'd told them
only briefly of his faith in God.
But when they looked at him, they saw Jesus.
A seed was planted from which a mighty tree arose. Today they are missionaries, evangelists,
believers through three generations- all brought to Christ by this man's simple act of mercy.
Mercy turned her beautiful eyes to the now weeping defendant.
"Oh, salt of the earth, do you know how many prayers of thanks were offered up to the Father
throughout the years, from that family for you? They never forgot you."
The old man brushed a leathery hand across his face, wiping fiercely at the tears.
He could never have imagined that one simple act could accomplish so much.
But Mercy was going on.
"Then there was the time when this child was....."
"STOP!! I have heard more than I wish to!" Satan screamed.
Jesus arched His eyebrows.
"Surely not Satan? I still have witnesses to call. See them standing over there?
Need, Compassion, Comfort, Justice, Kindness and Hope.
They are all waiting their turn to tell you how this man's life was a reflection of My Father's heart."
Satan flung the thick folder he held across the room and it slid to a halt at Jesus' feet.
Jesus leaned down and picked it up. Instantly it dissolved, flowing like sand through His fingers
and vanished.
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." He said and the
words rang out as sweetly as church bells across a meadow on a clear spring day.
Satan whirled and collapsed to the floor where he slithered from the room, with several small
followers scuttling behind him.
Jesus raised a hand and called out softly.
"Go Failure, Shame and Condemnation. Follow your master. You belong with him."
He turned back to address the frail old man who was sitting up straighter in the chair.
"Do you know now on which seat you sit?"
"The Mercy Seat. Your Mercy Seat, Lord Jesus."
"Do you understand whose child you are?"
"I am God's child and You are my Lord and my Savior!"
Jesus smiled, and the old man, who somehow didn't look old at all any more, smiled back at Him,
eyes sparkling with joy.
"Now My brother if you are ready, there are some people waiting anxiously to see you." Jesus said.
He followed Jesus' gaze and watched in amazement as a huge golden door swung open and
people began to run toward him.
Half standing in his chair, he cried out as a young woman flung herself into his waiting arms,
followed closely by a woman who looked just like her.
"Oh my dear sweet Daisy! My daughter! Can it really be you? Elizabeth! My darling Elizabeth!"
Jesus smiled down at Mercy, whose silvery tears glistened against her soft cheeks as they
watched the joyous reunion.
"That was Hope's testimony." He chuckled.
"I can't wait to see his face when he sees the place I have prepared for him." He added as the
group escorted their beloved soul through the waiting door into heaven.
A loud and joyous shout echoed back into the courtroom.
"Joe! I can''t believe it! You made it! Oh this is wonderful!"
Jesus chuckled once more, and winked at Forgiveness, who winked back as he busily gathered
the mountains of paperwork to be shredded before the day's legal sessions ended.
Taking Mercy by the hand, together they followed the happy group through the door and inside
the gates of heaven.
As the door slammed, a Mighty voice echoed through the universe behind them.
"Well done, My good and faithful servant."
(James chapter 2 verses 14-16)