Once there was
this very wealthy young man. He lived in a great, elaborate house
with dozens of rooms. Each room was more comfortable and more
beautiful than the one before it. There were paintings and
sculptures. Crystal chandeliers, golden, ornate railings on the
stairs. More beauty than most have ever seen. One day he decided
to invite the Lord to come home and stay with him. When the Lord
arrived, this young man offered him the very best room in the
house.
The room
was upstairs and at the end of the hall. "This room is yours,
Jesus! Stay as long as you like and you can do whatever you want
to in this room, remember Jesus, its all yours." That evening
after he had retired for the night there came a loud knocking at
the front door. The young man pulled on his robe and made his way
downstairs. When he opened the door he found that the devil had
sent three of his demons to attack the man. He quickly tried to
close the door but one of the demons kept sticking his foot in.
Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed to slam the
door shut and returned to his room totally exhausted.
Can you
believe that," the man thought. Jesus is upstairs in my very
best room sleeping while I am down here battling demons. Oh, well,
maybe he just didn't hear. He slept fitfully that night. The next
day thing went along as normal and, being tired as he was, the
young man retired early that evening. Along about midnight, there
came such a terrible ruckus at the front door that the young man
was sure that whatever it was would tear the door down. He
stumbled down the stairs once again and opened the door to find
that were dozens of demons now trying to get into his beautiful
home.
For more
than three hours he fought and struggled against the demons from
hell, and finally overtook them enough to shut the door against
their attack. All energy seemed to fail him. He really didn't
understand this at all. Why won't the Lord come to my rescue? Why
does he allow me to fight all by myself? I feel so alone.
Troubled, he found his way to the sofa and fell into a restless
sleep.
The next
morning he decided to inquire of the Lord about the happenings of
the last two evenings. Quietly he made his way to the elegant
bedroom where he had left Jesus. "Jesus," he called as
he tapped at the door. "Lord, I don't understand what is
happening. For the last two nights I have had to fight the demons
away from my door while you laid up here sleeping. Don't you care
about me? Did I not give you the very best room in the
house?" He could see the tears building in Jesus' eyes but
continued on, "I just don't understand, I really thought that
once I invited you in to live with me that you would take care of
me and I gave you the best room in my house and everything. What
more can I do?"
"My
precious child," Jesus spoke so softly. "I do love and
care for you. I protect all that you have released into my care.
But, when you invited me to come here and stay, you brought me to
this lovely room and you shut the door to the rest of your house.
I am Lord of this room but I am not Master of this house.
I have
protected this room and no demon may enter here." "Oh,
Lord, please forgive me. Take all of my house -- it is yours. I am
so sorry that I never offered you all to begin with. I want you to
have control of everything." With this he flung open the
bedroom door and knelt at Jesus' feet. "Please forgive me
Lord for being so selfish." Jesus smiled and told him that He
had already forgiven him and that He would take care of things
from now on.
That night
as the young man prepared for bed he thought, I wonder if those
demons will return, I am so tired of fighting them each and every
night. But, he knew that Jesus said that he would take care of
things from now on. Along about midnight the banging on the door
was frightening. The young man slipped out of his room in time to
see Jesus going down the stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung
open the door, no need to be afraid. Satan stood at the door, this
time demanding to be let in. "What do you want, satan?"
the Lord asked. The devil bowed low in the presence of the Lord,
"So sorry, I seem to have gotten the wrong address." And
with that, he and the demons all ran away.
There is a
moral to this tale. Jesus wants all of you, not just a part. He
will take all that you give Him, but nothing more. How much of
your heart have you given to the Lord? Are you keeping a portion
of it away from Him? Perhaps the attacks are coming more and more
each day. Why not let the Lord fight the battles for you? He is
always victorious. I have found that God made man simple, all of
man's complexities are of his own devising
Author
Unknown |