"A
merry heart maketh a cheerful
countenance:
but by sorrow of the heart the
spirit is broken.
The heart of him that hath
understanding
seeketh knowledge:
but the mouth of fools feedeth
on foolishness.
All the days of the afflicted
are evil:
but he that is of a merry heart
hath a continual feast."
Proverbs 15:13-15
A Strange
Birthday Celebration
There
was once a great King. His love
for His people knew no limits.
Although the kingdom was very
large, the King knew every
person by name. Everything the
people of the kingdom had was a
gift freely given by the loving
King.
So, to show their love and
appreciation to the King for all
He had done for them, the people
decided to have a great
celebration to honor His
birthday. Everyone agreed it was
a marvelous idea.
Preparations for the celebration
were very elaborate. No expense
was spared by the people. They
adorned their homes with lights,
decorations, and expensive
ornaments. There were parties,
dinners, and celebrations
throughout the kingdom.
All the people brought gifts for
their friends and family. Many
of the gifts which the people
gave each other were quite
expensive, involving
considerable indebtedness. In
fact, the people spent more on
the birthday celebration than
they spent at any other time of
the year.
Many who were not citizens of
the kingdom, and who did
not even know the King, joined
in the celebration. Their
celebration of the King's birth
was marked by excessive
drinking. Since they did not
know the King, they invented a
good-natured, fat fellow in a
red suit. He laughed a lot, but
never said anything. But that
didn't matter because
they were too busy celebrating
to listen anyhow.
The great day of celebrating His
birth finally arrived, and some
of His people did come bringing
gifts and thanking Him for His
goodness to them. But to His
dismay, most of the citizens
never came to His house at all
on the day of celebration. And
the gifts brought to the King by
those few who came were very
meager when compared with the
gifts they had given themselves.
For the most part the people
said they had been so busy with
all the celebrations and
personal plans that they had
forgotten about the King.
Several said they had thought of
Him, but really could not work
it into their schedules or
budgets to come see Him or bring
a gift. A few were known to be
quite put out when it was
suggested that going to the
King's house or remembering Him
with a gift was important.
Those people who did come to His
house and who brought their
loving gifts were welcomed and
blessed by the King. But when
they had gone and He was alone
again, the King fell to thinking
of the vast numbers of His
people who had forgotten and
forsaken Him.
How could they have forgotten?
How could so many of His beloved
people who had found time and
money for shopping and feasting
and partying and decorating and
all sorts of celebrations ~ how
could they possibly be so
thoughtless, so ungrateful or
selfish? Did they not know that
He, too, had feelings? Was not
the purpose of the birthday
celebration originally planned
to honor Him?
When the King was alone,
pondering these questions, He
felt the tears well up in His
eyes. And in His lonliness, He
wept.
One thought brought some hope
and consolation.
Even though they had forgotten
Him, He had not forgotten them.
"Lord Dictated
Them"
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