1 John 2:15-17
King James Version
15 Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life,
is not of the Father,
but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof:
but he that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever.
He had come into a world of sameness.
If it had been said once before, “variety is the spice of life”, well, it’s been bitter gourd the past five years.
Hardly a smile was seen.
Faces have become masks.
How the earth has changed.
How happiness has fallen.
How spirits have crashed.
He longed to see his mother’s smile, but they took her away.
She, who would brush the stray locks from his face, was locked elsewhere.
She was a bad influence to him, they said.
She, a mother, most of all, ought to have known better.
It’s just that she’s known that life before – the censure.
Why would she want the same for her son?
What future would he have in it?
It was not only criminal.
It was diabolical.
And she would have none of it.
The state would have none of that nonsense, either.
So, they took her.
Away from her screaming five-year-old.
Who would take care of him now?
Well, the state could.
But they had enough children on their hands.
Same story.
Rogue parents.
Forced separations.
It was the only way to teach both a lesson.
Separate the child from the mother.
They must not think for themselves.
The state was there to think for them.
What would happen to the world if everyone had freedom?
It would be chaos.
Just like five years ago, when the state thought it’s time for change.
People were too free.
The state wasn’t.
They were not a babysitting center.
They had more important things on their mind than look after people’s welfare.
The state wanted to expand its environs.
It needed wealth.
The freedom-loving people would de-rail them.
“Keep them in check,” the Main Man said.
“Cut short the freedom,” his followers rallied.
“Think for them,” others declared.
The general consensus?
Take away ALL freedom.
Let everyone dress the same, think the same, act the same.
Take the light out of those eyes, that’s how.
When you take the spirit, the person’s as good as dead.
That would curb population, too, the extremists gloated.
That’s how SAM had morphed into the world.
Sad, at age five.
SAM may become a beggar.
The proud, and the rebellious, become beggars in the New State.
The new leaders claimed they were undoing the damage from the previous leaders.
If one didn’t curb population, how would people be fed?
How would the state focus on more important matters when people distracted them with all their insatiable needs and wants?
People’s desires are like a large mouth and stomach that can never be fed enough.
In this day and age, after all the wars, the resources have been depleted, chaos abound.
Thus, it was ripe for censure.
Only with deprivation could the world continue.
The state snickered at the thought of the population dying like flies, as they fell off from lack of food, lack of entertainment, lack of joy, lack of respect, lack of life, and lack of spirit.
That was the whole idea, roared the Main Man.
Everything is an exercise in killing the spirit.
Kill the thought, kill the desire, kill the speech, and you kill the spirit.
Man was made to think.
Why else did he have a brain?
Even as many men hardly think, but that’s what the brain was for.
And now that they’ve been deprived of their freedom to think, and make choices, they all suddenly panic.
Where’s the logic in that?
Why was man so useless?
Why does he panic at the last minute?
Why do they always wait for the last minute?
Where, before, they had all the freedom they wanted and needed.
They had all the luxuries and choices, available for the taking.
And when they got all vain, and greedy, the wars came.
All as a result of that insatiable mouth.
Foolish, foolish people.
They deserve all that’s come to them.
But little SAM couldn’t understand that.
He was not rich.
He and his mom, a single parent, didn’t live in stately mansions.
She was a dressmaker, an endangered job, as everything was run with, and through machines.
But she loved the feel of material, the joy of doing art through her designs and stitches, or whatever her customers asked she do.
She was a tactile person, in a cold, strange, unfeeling world.
She and SAM managed with whatever little they had.
One room was all they needed.
A tiny, rented apartment sufficed.
He had begun school, too!
SAM was a chip off his mother’s shoulders, for he was simple and unambitious.
Lack of ambition was not a sin, in his mother’s books.
Over-ambition is.
She was quite content sewing those pretty dresses and quilts, imagining how they’d look good on the people who asked for them, and on the homes that needed them.
She got fair pay, too.
They did not have the heart to deprive her of the money she needed for herself and her boy.
They saw how hard she worked, and they paid fairly.
Sometimes, given the extra cash, they’d even give her more.
And SARAH was most grateful for that.
She and SAM could buy food, and keep the rented apartment.
She’d have money for his school.
Just that she made the mistake of securing his freedom.
A vengeful man caused trouble for her.
She didn’t want his attentions and he decided she’d pay for it.
Hurt and humiliated, he swore she’d pay for it.
So, he reported to the state that she was teaching her son freedom, in defiance of the state.
The kind that could break a state.
The kind that could fuel awareness in the child.
The kind that would open his eyes so he can see through the cloak of darkness and illusion put upon everyone.
The state reacted, and responded, accordingly.
“Take away that woman!” commanded the Main Man.
“Take her away from her boy, and lock her up!”
“There will be NO communication between the two, you hear?”
SAM screamed as they took his mother away.
She was a frail woman, slim of bone and structure, and hardly a violent person.
She didn’t have the strength to fight her captors.
As they took her away, she looked at the man who had done this, the one she had refused.
The one she cringed from.
The one who would be awful to her son, had she married him, for she was a widow.
She looked at him, and for a moment, he thought he saw fire there.
A blazing sort of fire, smoldering in its strength and power.
He was taken aback, as if she had slugged him.
And part of him became afraid.
She wasn’t what she seemed to be, he thought to himself.
Scratching at the men holding him back, SAM finally slumped to the floor as they carted him mom away.
What price, freedom?
Why were they so poor and powerless?
He knew the man liked his mom.
And when the man would visit his mom, on the pretext of having something sewn for his sister, SAM would draw close to his mother.
He was the man of the house, and felt protective of his mother.
Now, they took her away.
As if the sky felt his grief, it started to rain.
And the men took cover, releasing him from their clutches.
SAM scurried for cover, too, as the rain mixed with his tears.
When the rain stopped, he went to the bakery.
His friend at school, Kevin, would be there, helping his dad.
He’ll have to ask them to take him in for the night.
So, he told them what happened and they took pity on the boy.
Even they were victims of all this censure.
They were Jews who ate unleavened bread.
The state appointed theirs state bakery, and were to bake bread with yeast.
It tore Kevin’s dad apart, but what could they do?
If they didn’t comply, they would take over the bakery, and kick the whole family out, maybe even punish them, as an example.
What would an individual’s power be against the state?
This was the New State now, and they called for new rules.
Of course, the state knew the beliefs of Jews.
The LORD of their religion was pleased with unleavened bread for offerings.
The world played a cruel trick on Kevin’s family and on their beliefs.
It truly broke their heart.
And that’s exactly what the state wanted.
To break their heart and their spirit.
It, too, was humiliation.
Other Jews became afraid.
Was this to become another holocaust?
So, they ran elsewhere, leaving little Kevin and his parents, to fend for themselves, and to take the humiliation.
And then one day, salvation came.
LUCAS, was an intuitive.
He could see and feel things others couldn’t.
Had he seen the fire in the eyes of SAM’s mother?
As she walked past her tormentor, LUCAS was able to identify it.
He was of the same blood.
The kind that didn’t give in.
Except in his case, he was more street-wise.
He had lived through hell and back with his tormentors, too.
The people who took away his publishing business.
They said, “Ban the Bible!”
That was the only one LUCAS cared to print.
All other books were half-truths.
For him, the Bible was the ONLY Truth.
And you know what he did?
He surprised them all.
They thought he’d either rage, panic, or beg.
He did none of those things.
A child of GOD doesn’t bow before satan.
He leaves.
After all, the WORD of GOD was forever imprinted in his heart.
He knew the BIBLE by heart.
They could take away his business, or even his belief, and it won’t amount to anything.
He was a SOLDIER for CHRIST, and warriors don’t weep over loss.
They merely keep going.
Do you realize that kind of power, wherein all is taken from you, and yet to manage to keep going?
Only because there’s a secret FIRE in your SOUL, which no one can touch.
That was the very same FIRE in SAM’s mother.
When she flashed her eyes like that.
Sending a message to the perpetrator.
Letting it sink deep into his bones.
It was not born of the witch.
It was born of the SON of GOD.
She had been quietly reading the Bible.
A contraband in those days.
The state had taken over LUCAS’ publishing company.
Purposely so he’d stop printing those.
In its place, they started printing rules for the people.
At every post was seen a set of rules.
At the left side of every door, of every home, was such a set of rules, printed in thick, coated paper which the elements wouldn’t be able to easily destroy.
And inside every home, in every room, those same set of rules must be posted.
LUCAS’ printing press came in handy.
And so very convenient.
Talking about killing two birds with one stone.
The WORDS of GOD will be heard.
SAM was just learning a few of those verses.
And he recited a few that night as he stayed at Kevin’s home.
Come morning, he had to find a new place to stay.
And that’s how he bumped into LUCAS.
Head bowed, hands in pocket, feeling the cold air amplified by the wind, he kicked a few leaves on the street, not noticing a man walking on the opposite side.
“Whoa, little one!” said LUCAS, as he steadied the child who bumped into him.
The little boy had been zig-zagging his way on the street, lost in his own thoughts.
SAM looked up at him, and LUCAS’ heart was pierced by those grieving eyes.
What grieved this child so?
He was a sensor, wasn’t he?
He could sense what people needed, or wanted.
He could “read” their countenances.
He could not read their minds, for that was arrogant.
It was foolish of the state to employ psychics.
That was pure arrogance and disrespect.
An abomination in the eyes of GOD.
But LUCAS couldn't help it.
He could read their moods and feelings.
But he would never interfere with the mind.
They had to want to talk about the things that bothered them, or mattered to them.
And here was little SAM, needing nourishment, which LUCAS suspected, was not merely for the body, but for the spirit, the mind, and the heart.
He didn’t like seeing children sad.
They were created for joy.
He took the little boy to a coffee shop.
The boy ate huge pancakes and drank milk.
The color began to show on his face once more.
He thanked LUCAS, for he was taught manners by his mom.
Then, he began talking about his mom.
LUCAS listened closely, and felt compassion for the two.
Almost the same age, in their early 30s, LUCAS thought of a way to get the mother out.
And that’s when the plan began to form in his mind.
He would form friendships in the kitchen.
The one that supplied food to the prisoners.
That’s what he’ll do.
He’ll be a mere porter.
That will give the least attention, to a lowly position as that.
Let the cooks take the bulk of fame.
SAM loved the idea, and was sworn to secrecy.
He would stay with LUCAS tonight, and every night.
LUCAS had some money stashed away, even as the state grabbed his publishing company.
He had a little place in the woods, away from the eyes of the state.
SAM would be safe there.
Let them think him stupid or a coward.
It’s good to be forgotten, if this was the state that would lead them all to further ruin.
Let him have passed into nothingness.
But right now, he had to focus on freeing SARAH.
Dressing up like an ordinary worker, he looked like a porter, because he was lean, but muscled.
LUCAS got the job easily.
Of course, he was careful and cut his hair and shaved his beard.
He looked young and orderly, and the kitchen staff was relieved, as they needed an extra hand.
Being short of hands, just as he suspected, he would be asked to bring food to the prisoners.
And that was his first encounter with SAM’s mom.
His heart went out to the young woman sitting dejectedly in a corner, so frail and thin.
He recognized her, after seeing her tiny photograph, which little SAM put in his pocket.
Earlier, the little one was all over himself, life coming back to him, excited that LUCAS may find his mom, and perhaps – and he prayed with all his might – reunite them both again.
Now, LUCAS gently motioned for the young woman to get her food.
He couldn’t risk calling her “SARAH”, and alert others unnecessarily.
Not really hungry, she went to LUCAS, only because he seemed bearer of good news.
The total stranger seemed out of place to intuitive SARAH.
And she was right.
SAM is now in the care of this kind man, and she was forever grateful.
He couldn’t talk much, so he merely gave her a piece of paper with instructions on it.
Making her promise to shred the paper in bits after reading it.
That was the escape plan.
He was good with locks.
He’d come around midnight, when everyone was asleep, and free her from that dungeon.
And they’d walk through the shadowed alleys, till they get to the woods.
GOD must have been around.
The plan went smoothly, despite their hairs on end.
Surely, GOD had sent His angels to keep them all safe.
If you don’t believe in GOD, then you won’t believe that either.
But SAM, SARAH, and LUCAS did.
Kind LUCAS was not brought to them for a limp reason.
Everything felt right for the three to become family, eventually.
For love had grown among them.
There was trust and respect.
Something the state could not offer their people.
That being that, this young family would work at giving hope and freedom to the rest of the suffering, censured population.
It had been quite a while since a voice was heard.
Censure creates silence, and thus, death.
LUCAS will be that hopeful voice, guided by GOD.
SARAH and SAM will work alongside him.
There was much to do.
Fortunately, GOD was on their side.
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