The Scorpion Part 3

In Sterling City lived a man named Martin.  Martin loved his family but was having a tough time getting along with his wife who he loved dearly.  They spent most of their time fighting and arguing, mainly about money and some of the past things Martin had done.  Martin's sins hung heavy over his head but this one day in particular, Martin was having the toughest time.

After a quiet dinner, not in the nice kind of quiet but the kind where there is deep tension and no resolve, Martin stepped outside to smoke his evening cigar.  Martin lit the cigar and took a long inhale holding the smoke in for a few seconds.  "God, if you're listening to me, why did you make me?  I guess you always make those people that just bother people and I guess that's me." Martin said as he exhaled the smoke in his mouth and lungs.  He flicked his cigar and continued, "You shouldn't have wasted your time."

Martin continued to smoke his cigar all the way to the end as he leaned against the side of his house and watched the sun set over the river that has no end.  Martin threw the butt of his fading cigar onto the ground and smashed it making sure to extinguish the embers that glowed on the cement.  He felt some type of resolve after talking to this God he had only called upon when he was in a hard place or needed help on a test in grade school.  Martin decided to take a walk and talk to this God.  Maybe God needed to hear what Martin had to say.  Maybe whatever Martin said would change the way God felt about him.  Maybe those TV preachers were right.  Maybe Martin needed to be saved.  Whatever that meant.

Martin peeked in the back door and told his wife, "I'm going on a walk.  Be back soon.".  He shut the door, slipped his hands in his jeans and started towards the front.  Martin walked with his head down, defeated but with a purpose.  He needed to go somewhere where this God that seemed to be listening would speak to him.  Martin walked on down a few blocks and past the post office.  He came to a lonely dirt road that looked like it led to the river that has no end.  He followed it and came to it's banks.  Martin sat down and watched the water rush by.  The water didn't move quickly but something about the way it was moving flowed with vigor.  

Martin sat in the quiet and kept his head down as the sun set over the Sterling City.  Martin spoke directly to the ground hoping that God was still listening.  "So if you're into this saving stuff, how does it work?"  he said.  Martin plucked a blade of grass and continued, "If you are a loving God, why didn't you save me a long time ago?  Am I that bad of a person?"  Martin said as he plucked a few more pieces of grass and tossed one by one.  "You know what?  I think I'm wasting my time.  I don't think you truly love me.  If you did, you would say something back..." as Martin finished his statement he saw a ruckus to the right of him on the bank of the river that has no end.

Martin saw an older woman down on one knee sticking her hand in a small branch that was caught on the bank and every time she stuck it in she would quickly pull it out as if something was stinging her.  She didn't look crazy or like she had escaped the old folk's home, she just looked like a regular old woman.  Martin stood from his sitting place and walked over to the woman.  He could now see that her hand was swollen and stung all over by a scorpion that was caught in the branch.  Martin grabbed her by the shoulder and said, "Ma'am, no offense but are you crazy?  That thing just keeps stinging you every time you stick your hand in there.  Why are you doing that?  Just let it die!".  

Ann grabbed her hand that was now numb from the stinging and tried to wipe the tears running down her face.  She held her hand tight to her chest and whimpered for a few seconds before responding to Martin.  She looked at Martin and said, "Why would I deny this scorpion a chance at life when it's nature is to sting and my nature is to save?" 

The Scorpion Part 2

Ann kneeled next to the branch that was caught on the bank of  the river that has no end and watched the small scorpion struggle to gain it's freedom.  It struggled and tried to maneuver it's way out but to no avail.  The scorpion seemed tired and sat with it's body half in the water and the other half on the bank caught in the branch.  

After watching it struggle for a few seconds, Ann reached down and broke a few limbs off of the branch so she could get to the small and tired scorpion.  There was nothing special about this scorpion but Ann had a feeling deep inside her that she needed to save this scorpion from it's impending death in the river that has no end.  Ann slowly made her way with her hand down to the scorpion itself.  As she put her hand near the scorpion she felt it's stinger poke her between her thumb and index finger ever so quickly that it took her a few seconds to gather what had happened.  Ann lifted her hand to her face and saw where the scorpion had penetrated her skin.  A small drop of blood fell from the wound.  Surprisingly there was no burning feeling.  Ann thought that all scorpions were poisonous, but maybe not this one.

Ann had an overwhelming feeling that the scorpion still needed to be saved from the river that has no end.  Her hand throbbed with pain but without even thinking she reached down to try and save the scorpion again.  Without even seeing the stinger poke her, she watched the scorpion pull it's stinger out of her hand.  She leapt up and grabbed her hand.  Tears streamed down her face as she looked at the scorpion with a love she could not understand.  Ann thought to herself, "Why won't you let me save you?".  

Again, with a love for the life of the scorpion that would not stop, Ann reached down again and again was stung by the drowning scorpion.  Ann continued and with every try the scorpion would not relent and with every try Ann would tear her hand back and whimper in pain.  Ann did not quit.  She was sure that she looked foolish and was grateful that there were no onlookers.

Between stings Ann looked at her hand and cried out in agony.  The pain had subsided but her hand looked horrific.  It was purple and swollen and now becoming numb.  Ann would not quit and the scorpion mirrored her efforts. 

The Scorpion. Part 1

In the town of Sterling City, on the 5th block east of the river that has no end, there lived a lady named Ann.  Ann loved to take walks right before the sun set every night.  She had ample time to do this as her husband had passed in the great war and her 2 beautiful children were now married and had children and lives of their own.  

On one particular night, Ann went through her daily routines.  She cooked her small portioned dinner, ate it ever so slowly on the back porch, washed and cleaned what was dirty and laced up her white, dingy walking shoes.  

Ann loved this time because Ann always talked to God.  She would ignore the looks she received from some of the passersby because she knew God was listening.  Sometimes God would talk back.  She would talk and talk to her heart's content then after awhile she would always say, "Listen to me, I've taken up all of our time with crazy talk, now it's your turn...".

Most of the time, the talks were one ended.  But after her spiel, Ann would just listen.  Now Ann was a creature of habit and she would walk the same path every evening.  There were times Ann would walk and see her footsteps from the day before and think, "maybe I should walk another path to the river that has no end.".  It was too far from familiar for her so she stuck to the same path, night after night.  

She timed her walk just right so when she reached the river that has no end, almost right on time, the sun would slowly set.  Every time Ann had a new feeling come over her.  A small tear would come to her eye and a smile would form on her lips.  Ann always had the same thing to say, but every evening the "thank you" she said meant something different.  

On this evening Ann made her regular walk, past the post office, onto the dirt road that led to the river that has no end.  She looked at her watch as she made it to the banks of the river and said "ah, right on time".  The sun began it's descent and Ann took a deep breath, closed her eyes and said, "thank you.".  She opened her eyes to take a look at the setting sun that had painted her with it's rays and suddenly something out of the right corner of her eye caught her attention.

There was a small branch that had floated down stream and snagged on the bank of the river that has no end and something was moving inside of it.  There was a struggle.  It seemed to be a small creature that had it's legs caught in the branch.  Ann stepped over to it, knelt down next to it and could now see that it was a small scorpion. 

The Gospel.

So... I realize I haven't posted in awhile.  Hopefully all of my readers haven't got too discouraged and gone off to some other blog site that talks about cookies and eggnog.  Ummm, eggnog.  Anyway, I am going to post a series of FICTIONAL posts.  It might be like 2 or 3.  It's from the view point of 2 people.  You might have seen my other fictional posts that you can read here and here.

These next 2 posts are going to be more "theological".  Now please note, I know many of you don't agree with me or some of my Theology.  That's ok.  I just wanted to share this with you.  I would really like to discuss it after the fact with some of you.  Tastefully discuss.

Christ crucified, Christ glorified.  Amen.

Check back for these stories soon...