STORIES
    Deaf-N-Dumb
    The Butterfly
    Of Snakes and Faith
    The Widow's Son

''THE REPENTANT MAN

THE BUTTERFLY''


By StephenJames

There once was a very wicked man. He lived his life exclusively by his rules of the world. His humanity was himself. Oh, he did not break any laws. All he wanted was MORE. Just like everyone else. He was no criminal. No, he was too smart for that. No everything he did was lawful but it was by no means “ETHICAL.” He lied. He cheated everyone. He steal stole. He accumulated a fortune by ruthless business tactics. Once he foreclosed on a widow with five children of Christmas Eve casting from their home into the snow. He was greedy! He lived only for earthly possessions and physical pleasures. He would say to himself they would do it to me if they had half the chance. That is the way of men in this world. I know the Score; I do not intend to be their victim.

He was what people called a gourmet and hedonist. Without question, the man was one of the greatest sinners who ever lived. He was not only wicked he was cruel even malicious. He made demands upon populace, which were excessive. Inhabitants existed in constant dread of him. If his demands were not fulfilled he would get revenge against people with a, ferociousness equal to that of the devil. HE WANTED to communicate the impression to each one, he was their superior, not an individual to be made discontented. No one dared disagree with him, their response was constantly the identical “Yes, you’re right.”

However, when the men achieve the age of 40, something unexplainable occurred. For some mysterious reason, his complete life changed because of outwardly good “business transaction” which surprisingly turned bad. A “haze of bad fortune” appear to precipitate adversity upon the man. His personal and business “lives” came crumbling down around him. He lost his entire fortune everything he had worked for his entire life. Gone where his luxurious house and his possessions. He was bankrupt impoverished and in a state of personal despair. He had no more “HOPE” for a better life. People were happy when they saw what happened to; him. They said it was justified he got what he was worthy of. He was a man who had reaped what he had sowed. All the “negativity” .he had sown in his life had brought him a harvest of negativity, which “victimized” him. Everything was gone. Besides, people revel in seeing others suffer especially one famous and who had been successful. This way they do not think they are such losers. Misery loves company and plenty of it. Life is unfairness and many people loved to se the unfairness they suffered happen to another. All of this in silence of course. The only thing he had. left was his “SELF; and his “SELF” offered him no comfort. Even his “alleged friends” had abandoned him. For they never were his “true friends.” They only pretended to like him because they thought they could get some money from him. They liked to attend the man s lavish parties where there: was free food and drinks. These “fair weathered friends” liked being associated with the man because it gave them more” status” in the community. However when the man lost everything these “friend s” were no where to be found. They refused to help him in his time of need. He was kind of like the prodigal son only this man had no family to return to.

Needless to say, the man was in a state of depression. His emotional depression became so great he decided he would commit suicide. So it is when men place their “faith” only in themselves and the ways of the world. They end up “victims” of their self-created tragedy. In any event, the man “believed” he had no­thing else to live for. So one day he went out and purchased a gun. He planned to kill himself when nightfall came. When nighttime came, he went into his bedroom and lay down. He placed the loaded gun on his night table. Before he reached for the gun he began re­ viewing his life and all the mistakes he had made. Tears rolled down his face as he re­membered how wicked he had been. As he examined his conscience, he could see how wrong he had been all the evil he had done to God his fellow man and his “SELF.” He regretted and was “truly” sorry for his terrible evils what people call mistakes and sins. Erroneously, the man assumed he could “pay for his sins” only by killing himself. Somehow committing suicide would” make up for” all his sins evils, wrongs fail­ures and mistakes.

Therefore, he reached for his gun and with a trembling hand placed the gun to his temple. He was about to pull the trigger when something extraordinary happened. The Holy Spirit spoke to his heart. The Holy Spirit said “My Son God does not ex­pect a sinner to kill himself for his sins, wrongs mistakes and failures. No God only wants you to be sorry for them admit them confess them and seek forgiveness for them. For God is a God of LOVE. He LOVES and forgives you. He does not want to punish you. God does not punish a repentant sinner He forgives him. It is men and the evil one who punish men ­not God. Once a man has repented and has been forgiven, the whole matter is finished with. God only wants you to assume responsibility for you wrongful actions and evil deeds. Only then, can you purify yourself once again and go onto grow to spiritual MATURITY. So confess your sins now and they will be forgiven. You will be free from the bondage of your sin.”

So the man with tears coming down his face, recounted confessed and repented for all the terrible sins he had committed. The Holy Spirit let the man know in his heart that he had been completely forgiven. That night the man got rid of his gun and vowed to begin a new life with his cleaned slate. From that day forward the man changed complete. He now became a good man. He went to church every Sunday and never sinned again. In fact, he became a very pious man. People were astounded to see what a holy man he had become. His religious transformation was incredible. However deep inside the man s spirit he was no at peace. He was troubled with pangs of guilt for his past sins. He knew his sins were forgiven but he did not “feel like” they were completely forgiven. Anyway, this nagging guilt overwhelmed the man to the point that it made him depressed again. The man simply did not know how to “cope” with these emotions of guilt. So late at night he would take his inner turmoil into his church. He would fall down on his knees and pray before the picture of Jesus. He would beg Jesus to relieve him of his terrible all consuming guilt and fears of damnation. However despite all o£ his prayers the man s spirit was not relieved. However, the man did not give up. He had “FAITH” and “TRUSTED” the Lord would help him in the Lord s time not necessarily when the man wanted it, but when the Lord thought he needed help.

Then late one night while the tormented man was praying in the church an angel of the Lord appeared to him. The man was frightened when he saw this beautiful creature. He thought the angel had come to announce his death and punishment for his sins. The angel said “Don t be afraid my Brother. The Lord has heard your prayers and has sent me to give you a message. The message is this; you have confessed and repented of your sins, and your sins are forgiven you. This guilt trip you have placed upon yourself is from your own fear and the fear placed in your heart by the evil one. You see the evil one does not want you to feel forgiveness. He does not want you to “feel” free to grotto a higher level of SPIRITUAL MATURITY. He wants to keep you imprisoned in your guilt. He wants to keep your mind focused. on the past not your spiritual present and future. He does not want you to go forward spiritually. For what man can go forward by always looking over his shoulder watching where he has been and not where he. is going. Eventually, he will trip stumble and fall and injure himself. Most likely, he will not get where he is going. So too with sinners. A sinner who constantly dwells on his guilt for past sins remains spiritually immature. Guilt blinds repentant sinners to where they should be going forward. They should be growing in SPIRITUAL MATURITY. not stagnating in their guilt. Oh, don t get me wrong some guilt is good. Positive guilt lets us know when we have done something wrong which needs to be rectified. It s that little voice inside which brings us to repentance and forgiveness. However negative guilt like yours is bad because it works against forgiveness the LOVE God has for you and yes your SALVATION and potential SPIRITUAL MATURITY.”

The man said “Dear Angel I think I under­ stand the message. But,. I must admit I still feel guilty inside. I do not feel forgiven.” The angel responded. “Dear Friend your problem is that you are still a caterpillar “ “I m sorry Beautiful One I do not understand. I am not a caterpillar but a loan. I am a man who has been a great sinner,” said the guilt-ridden man. The angel smiled saying “That s what sinners are. They are caterpillars. Let me explain it to you this way. When John The Bap­tist came he preached that men CATERPILLARS” that is all men who were sinners MUST repent for their sins. Moreover, good men like you repent­ed their sins and were forgiven. However, they remain CATERPILLARS like you. You are still in the spiritual stage of the CATERPILLAR However when our Lord Jesus Christ came he called men to repentance but He also called them one step farther. Jesus released them from the bondage and consequences of their sins. He told them they could no longer be CATERPILLARS They must reform their lives and be reborn. They must become new men of great SPIRITUAL MA­TURITY. They could no longer be mere CATERPIL­LARS but had to transform themselves complete­ly and. become BUTTERFLIES” Do you see how important this level of SPIRITUAL MATURITY is? The message from the Master is this. Repentant sinners like yourself can no longer just crawl around the ground like spiritual cater­ pillars. For such caterpillars always keep their eyes transfixed only on the ground but never on the heavens. However, when they change themselves into BUTTERFLIES their gaze becomes fixed on the heavens. SPIRITUAL BUTTERFLIES are re­pentant sinners who have become MATURE and. fly and soar in the ways of Heaven. That my Friend is what you MUST do. You must become a spirit­ual BUTTERFLY”

The man was inspired by the angel s message, but asked this important question. “Dear Angel I think I understand the message but how do I become a BUTTERFLY? What laws or principles do I use to bring about this spiritual transformation?” The angel res­ponded “It is by your total commitment to the LOVE of God and the LOVE of your fellowman as you LOVE yourself that you become a SPIRITUALLY MATURE BUTTERFLY. Only when you begin to LIVE LOVE in everything you think feel say and do; only then do you begin to fly and soar like a butterfly. Only when you stop looking back” on your past sins with guilt; only when you begin to go forward to SPIRITUAL MATURITY WITH LOVE. Only when you have reformed your very SELF; only when you have transformed your attitude and life with LOVE; only then will you fly like a butterfly, even like an angel and become one of God s beauties.” The man had many questions for the angel. The most important one was. “How does a guilt­ ridden repentant caterpillar use LOVE to be­ come a “LOVING BUTTERFLY?” What is LOVE? How does a person “DO” LOVE?” However, be­fore the man could ask these questions the angel just disappeared.

The next morning the man .was driving to work on his usual route. For some strange reason he happened to take notice of the sign for” THE EDUCATION CENTER FOR RETARDED CHILDREN”. He had passed the sign before thousands of times but had never “really” taken notice of it. However, this time “something inside him” attracted him to it. (This is how the Holy Spirit works sometimes “The feeling” became so strong the man turned his car around and drove up to the educational center. Not knowing exactly what he was doing he got out of his car and went inside the building. The receptionist thought the man was the new volunteer who was expected at that hour. You see the center was constantly looking for volunteers to come and spend some time with the retarded children. So she took him by the arm and led him to a room where the children were playing. W hen the children saw him they instantly fell 1n LOVE with the man. They all rushed over and hugged him. They could see what a good and LOVING person he was. They man was so over­whelmed with their “INNOCENCE AND LOVE” that tears rolled down his face. And from that time on the man became the centers most dedicated volunteer. He spent every moment of his spare time with his “Little Angels” the name he used to describe his LOVING children. “The Little Angels” always jumped for joy when the man came to visit and play with them. He always made the play more fun because he had great enthusiasm and renewed seemingly boundless energy. Gone were his depression and lethargy. Gone was his guilt and despair. The man had. discovered. that by “getting outside him self” that by refusing to worry about his own problems and his “SELF” that by concentrating on the LOVE of his children he had freed him­ self from his previous guilt ridden bondage of his sin. By denying his very “SELF” and by” LIVING HIS LOVE” he had found his “TRUE MATURE SPIRITUAL SELF”

One sunny summer day the man took his” Little Angels” out to the park to play.. He lik­ed to sit on a park bench and watch them. After, they had been playing for a while they all ran up to the man in a state of great excitement and happiness. They said.” Look! Look! DonÂ’t you see all the beautiful butterflies on the grass and. the flowers?” “Yes,” said the man with LOVE in his voice “I see them. They are nice. They are beautiful. They re beautiful just like each and everyone of you are to me.” Then one of the little girls said to the man “That s what you Are like to us too. When you are with us you make us feel as happy as butterflies. Yes you are our butterfly.” And from that day forward the children call­ed the man “THE BUTTERFLY.” Moreover, every time the man heard his nickname a tear would come to his eye. For now, he understood what the angel had meant.

For you see it does not matter how bad a “CATERPILLAR” sinner you have been; nor does it matter how much of a guilt ridden repentant “CATERPILLAR” you are; all that really matters to the Lord is the wonderful BUTTERFLY” you choose to become. If we insist upon remaining a “CATERPILLAR,” if we insist upon remaining SPIRITUALLY IMMATURE , if WE insist upon being self centered and REFUSE TO LOVE, then we will always be worried about being able to crawl through the Gates Of Heaven. WE will always be worried about SAL­VATION. Therefore, it is with spiritual caterpillars. HOWEVER, when “CATERPILLARS” choose to trans­form themselves into “LOVING BUTTERFLIES,” they no longer have to worry about crawling. Such “LOVING BUTTERFLIES” simply soar effort­lessly over the Gates and gently set down in Paradise. It is all up to us. We only have to choose TO LIVE THE Faith OF JESUS CHRIST WITH LOVE.” It is just that simple. However, oh how complex we make it when we have a hard heart beings of this world who refuse to break the bounds of our cocoon. To liberate ourselves. For CATERPILLARS” will always remain just frightened” CATERPILLARS” until they choose to commit to LOVE. Only then, will they become BUTTERFLIES.”

The Lord is not out to punish us for our sins but to forgive us for our repented sins and mistake The Lord wants us to “LEARN FROM OUR MISTAKES.” For it is true. “CATERPILLARS who remain mere REPENTANT CATERPILLARS will always be worried whether or not they will one day be crushed under what they perceive to be God s punish­ing foot. HOWEVER, CATERPILLARS who decide to become BUTTERFLIES never have such silly worries For they are always flying (LOVING) and there­fore cannot be crushed underfoot. They are too busy “LIVING THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST WITH LOVE”. They are too busy LOVING. They do not have the time to worry about punishment. What is done is done. We need never have “GUILT” for our forgiven sins. The only thing the Lord asks is that we LEARN FROM THEM. We need only do BETTER the next time.

We are not born for ourselves alone. We belong to the world the family of universal beings as one. Not meant to be separated. For it by service to others that we find our real selves. For being alone only with our selves is simply not enough. Not enough to live for. No purpose no chance of happiness in life, because there is no one to share our happiness and yes depressions with. That is what makes life worthwhile meaningful and with a purpose. And thatÂ’s why they say Butterflies are free. For we find ourselves in others. That is why others were created .It is by serving not by being served we discover lifeÂ’s meaning. Because all life is change. The only thing that does not change is change itself, and that is God.. Evolution is creation, which never stops our spiritual development. In the end, we will discover that all of us are one. That without others, we simply wither on the vine and pass into oblivion.

The Master made this IMPORTANT statement about the women who washed his feet with her tears for sorrow. ” I tell you that is why her many sins are forgiven because of her GREAT LOVE. LITTLE IS FORGIVEN THE ONE WHOSE LOVE IS SMALL.”


BECOME A BUTTERFLY:

Don’t be afraid to change your thinking and your very self. Life is evolution, not stagnation. Evolution is creation. God got up on the 8th day and kept on creating till this very moment. A, and so can you. You are made in His Image. Gifted with evolutionary creative change. So, do not remain a caterpillar, but enter your cocoon metamorphosis yourself, and emerge a free butterfly. For the word repent simply means---“change your way of thinking for the good.” Because caterpillars cannot squeeze under the Gates of Paradise, but Butterflies effortlessly glide over them.