Friday, June 23, 2006
There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small NewEngland town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty,bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as ifin response, Pastor Thomas began to speak..."I was walking through townyesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. Onthe bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold andfright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What you got there, son?" "Just some oldbirds," came the reply.
"What are you gonna do with them?" I asked.
"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered "I'm gonnatease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a realgood time" "But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will youdo?"
"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds.I'll take 'em to them."
The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want forthose birds, son?"
"Huh?? !!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!" "How much?" the pastor asked again. The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"
The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill.He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end ofthe alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot Setting the cage down, heopened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and thenthe pastor began to tell this story.
One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan hadjust come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir,I just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait Iknew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"
"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.
Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them howto marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drinkand smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and killeach other. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked."Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?"Jesus asked
"Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'lltake them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"
"How much?" He asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears andyour life."
Jesus said, "DONE!"
Then he paid the price.
Y2:04 PM
