Short Dramas and Plays

Parable of the Country Boy

by Terry Barlow
03/16/21
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  There was once a seven year old county 👦 boy named Freddy who had never left his family's remote rural property. His father and mother had told him about many things that are abundant in cities like skyscrapers, and airports, and 🚌 buses and 🚆 train stations. One day when he was old enough his parents decided to take him to the big city many miles away. They jumped in their old but well-maintained  station wagon and began to drive. The boy was thrilled to see scenery he had never seen before, homes and 🚜 farms with tractors, and even a ⛰ mountain in the distance. They were not even one third of the way to the city when they came upon something disastrous and unexpected. It was at a railroad crossing and a truck had apparently gotten stuck on the track and caused a huge collision affecting all the cars in the train with some strewn on either side of the train track. Fortunately no one had been seriously injured but the train was in bad shape as would be expected. The family was going to have to find an alternate route to the city, but as they were turning around little Freddy was looking out the window back toward the mangled train and track exclaiming, "Wow! Trains are sure awesome!" His father responded, "Freddy, they are indeed, but you haven't truly seen a train yet, you've only seen a wrecked train. Wait till you see one that hasn't been wrecked, you'll be even MORE impressed! MUCH more!"

  And so it is that even as Freddy hadn't seen an undamaged train in all its splendor, so you and I haven't really seen a person yet, that is a person who has not been damaged by the Fall of humankind that infected and impacted all of the human race without exception through the initial disobedience of Adam and Eve. The image of God is still visible in each person but that image has been tainted. I said "without exception" but there was one exception on 🌎 earth and his name was Jesus Christ. We behold him now only with eyes of faith as we read the Bible and especially the New Testament.  Because he was untainted and unblemished in his earthly life he could lay down his life and take our judgement and punishment upon himself, because there was no judgement or punishment of his own to bear since he had done no wrong. He has come to restore us to the splendor and glory, and immortal majesty that humanity had before sin was permitted to intrude and do it's damage even to the point of the death that it brought in its wake. Still, as part of this process, we have to acknowledge our need personally and individually for this restoration to full personhood and a reconciled relationship with God.