Short Stories

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Go Long
Hello there. It’s been a while since we’ve spoken, huh? How are you doing in here? Well, it may look gloomy right now, but whatever you do, don’t you fear or regret one thing. Ooh, no! Everything that has happened has been a great challenge, I know but it’s no surprise to me you are in here. No, no, not because I think you are a bad person but because of what you and the Creator of all things talked about. Oh, that’s right. You probably don’t remember do you? Well, if you’ve got a minute, no pun intended, I’d like to take this time and refresh your memory. Just sit back and relax. I never know how long winded I’m going to be. Everyone can remember when I started, but no one quite knows when I’ll end. So pay close attention.

Once upon eternity the Father and the Son were conversing about the turmoil on earth. They were in the Throne Room. Angels were singing, and the atmosphere was full of a sweet aroma with an every once and a while swift breeze of a stench. It was as if you could feel the worship breathing. When the sweet aroma was strong there was a smooth and soothing reverence that filled the air. But when that strange pungent odor leaped through the air the angels burst out in praise as if to distract the Lord from the stink, so His nostrils would not inhale such a fume, but it never worked. The fragranced was duly noted by the Father. Well, as I was saying, God and Jesus were talking when there came a great thud at the door of the Throne Room. A thud so loud and vibratos the angels stopped singing and turned to see where it came from. But not all angels wondered. One angel knew exactly who it was. Kneeled down at her lowest position, she lifted only her eyes ever so slowly to the Lord as if to say, “Sorry.” This angel knew all to well the trouble gotten in to by the one on the opposite side of that door. She was one of his favorite angels. Feeling Jehovah’s heart concerning the matter, she stood, walked speedily to the door and opened it gingerly convinced she’d find her little friend still flat on his back seeing stars. While opening the door, Heaven was silent for … well let’s see, in earth time it would be about four hundred years. Some people call it the four hundred years of silence. Anyhow, she was right. There he was on his back with one leg bent knee up, the other out and to the side, and as usual with a football cradled under his arm.

“Hey, Grace! Go long,” He jumped up and tried to run off but was drawn back by a force he’d never felt before.
Watching him wrestle with the atmosphere behind him the angel gently placed her hand on his shoulder and commanded “Be still, for you are now in the presence of the Most Holy One!”
“Why you talkin’ like a centurion soldier?” the little one questioned as he turned to face his apprehender, not realizing he fell onto the Throne Room door. But once he was a full 180 degrees his mouth dropped and so did his knees. He was stunned. He’d done a lot of crazy things but he’d never want to disrespect the Throne Room. He tossed the football to the side while tears welled up in his eyes and softly trickled down his face. He was in a daze only to be awakened by the laughter of the Father and the Son. Shame faced he lowered his eyes; they were laughing at him.
“Sorry to disturb you, Lord,” he said as he got up to leave.
Still with a huge grin on His face and between laughs the Father said, “Not so fast, Little One. Come here before My Throne.”
He took a few steps.
“Closer.”
He gazed around the room at all the angels now worshipping again and took three more steps.
“All the way.”
Now with hands placed behind his back he walked directly in front of the Most High’s Throne. It was quite intimidating.
“What’s that behind your back,” Jehovah asked with a smirk on His face and nudging His Son.
“No-no-thing,” Nervously, the little guy fumbled his arms around to present empty hands but found them occupied with his football instead.
By this time the Father and Son were rolling with laughter, so much so Jehovah stomped His foot on the floor. (Needless to say there were catastrophic quakes on earth.)
“I thought I dropped it back there,” he said as he pointed behind him. “I didn’t think it was right to bring it in here.”
“Yeah, I noticed how when you saw Me you tried to toss it to the side. Is this your most cherished possession here?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Well, I appreciate your efforts of trying to get rid of it. It’s good to know you’re willing to give up your favorite thing to try to make yourself presentable to Me, but the only way to truly be rid of it is to give to Me. I need you to remember that.”
Scratching his head he replied, “Okay.”
God looked over to Jesus and they once again conversed amongst themselves. The kid tried his best to no avail to hear what was being said. So he just stood there with the football under his left arm and his right hand on his hip, as if waiting for his coach to give him the next play. Then once again a hush came over the heavens, but not like before.
“Oh, I’ve really done it now,” the young lad thought to himself. He along with all of Heaven was witnessing something never before seen. Jesus the Christ stood up and stepped down from His throne and just walked away. He just kept walking out of the Throne Room, out of the Inner Courts, out of the Outer Courts until the little boy could see Him no more. The first words to come out of the little boy’s mouth was, “Is what I did that bad? … He’s gone?”
“He’ll return shortly. And it’s not what you did that has caused my Son to depart from Heaven. It’s what you are going to do,” said the Father
Glancing over at G the little boy protested, “I can do better I promise!”
“I know you can and you will. Hey, toss Me that ball and come up here with Me. Sit on My lap.”
The grandest smile came over the boy’s face as he threw the ball to God and climbed up the steps of His Majesty’s Throne. The Father met him half way with out stretched arms to pick him up and nicely placed him on His knee. Suddenly the Throne began to move. It too moved from the Throne Room all the way out to the outer courts; all the way to the edge of Heaven. From there They could see all of the earth. But there was only one particular part God wanted His little friend to see and that was every place His Son went.
“Hey, there’s Jesus!” the boy exclaimed
“Yes, there is My Only Begotten. Let’s take a look at what He’s doing down there….Ah, there is Mary and Joseph taking Him to Eygpt.”
“That is Mary and Joseph! I knew I hadn’t seen them around lately.”
“And now they are taking Him to Nazareth. This is good. Everythings going as planned.”
“And, and now he’s playing football with the other kids. Hey, He looks a lot like me.”
“Yes He does, Little One. What a wonderful teacher I am. Look at Him teaching the adults in the synagogue with such authority. He is only twelve now. They have no idea He is God. They have no idea He has come to save them one day soon to come. They have been waiting on a Savior and He is standing before them and they haven’t a clue.”
The little guy looked at God with a perplexed face. “Did you say Jesus is going to save them?”
And God responded never taking His eye off of His Son saying, “Yes. I did …and He is. He just had His thirty-third birthday. He’s getting ready to go into full-time ministry now. And look, He just came out of the wilderness and He is about to get baptized.”
While staring at His Creator the little boy was awe-stricken as he observed the love in His eyes for Jesus, the Son. Then a puzzled look came upon his face.
“Did you say Jesus just turned thirty three? He was just twelve. What’s going on?” the little guy questioned.
Turning His attention to the boy, “Oh, down on earth there is something called time. It is how man measures their life on earth. They say it seems to take an ‘eternity’ for things to happen down there. While up here, it all happens in a blink of an eye.”
Looking back down to earth he said, “Oh, I get it. Well, can you fill me in on the past eighteen years I missed?”
“All you will need to know is what is before you now.” God turned his head toward earth. “Watch Him as He heals, feeds and teaches My people. He casts out devils and raises the dead. Do you see all of this?”
“Yes, Sir. I have another question, Lord. If Jesus is to save them doesn’t that mean He has to…”
“I know it hurts, Son. Be strong and of good courage that My will in Heaven be done on earth. For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in Us.”
The young boy just stared at His God and watched as a tear streamed down His omnipotent face. He reached up as far as he could to wipe His tear off His chin. The Father looked down at the lad and spoke to him again, “You see this football? I watch you carry this football around here everywhere. You hold on to it even at the Table. Yet when you came into My presence you threw it aside because you didn’t want me to see it. Your ball I hold in My hand represents the treasure of your heart. It’s the thing you hold on to, the thing you made your friend that you play with. Tell me, have you had it for so long that you sometimes forget it’s there? If you love it so much why wouldn’t you want to share it with your Lord? If it’s such a precious possession, why wouldn’t you want to give it to Me? That is what I desire from the people down there; the thing they hold the closest to them. When someone takes that ball and runs the other way, don’t you run after them and keep running until you get it back? When someone fumbles don’t you think to yourself, ‘That would have never happened if I had the ball? I would have held onto it for my team.’ That’s how I feel. They are all holding some kind of ball deep inside them: hurt, bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, shame. People down there… they not only hide things from me but they hide themselves too. We needed a way to get the ball back…so that Man will once again have the offence. So, yes, He has to die. He has to hang …down there… on that cross….”
“FATHER!”
“It’s alright… I just can’t bear to look at Him that way,” He said as He sat in His Throne with the window to His soul closed. There was complete darkness in Heaven and on earth.

You see the people. They are all crying out but not for me; not for my Son. deserve all the praise. The ones with the sword down there; they are crying out because they’re glad Jesus is dying and the others, His disciples; they are crying out because they are hurt that He is leaving them. The angels try to make up for their praise but there is nothing that can compare to the praise of My people. That is why I must constantly endure this odor of a filthy rag. They’ve never experienced a lost or a pain this deep. They feel their own lives are being taken away. They do not understand His reason for living is to die that they may have Life forevermore. Promise Me no matter what happens, no matter how bad it gets you will always look for Life. This is the purpose of His death: so that in every situation you can find Life. When you look around only to find people who are lost and in pain, promise Me you will die too.”
So captivated by the speech of Adonai and without one thought, he received the call simply saying, “I will.” And all of Heaven shone again with the light of the Lord.
“And Your Spirit I receive, Son,” the Father said, now standing with His eyes opened, still holding on to His friend.
Then came the quake on earth. A quake so profound the rocks split right in two.
“What’s happening?” cried the little boy.
“The rocks are praising Him,” proclaimed the Father as He once again sat on His Throne. He held the football in front of the boy and asked, “How far would you go to journey after this ball? How hard would you run to find where it will land?”
The little boy just sat there looking perplexed.
“What I am asking you is will you go down there on earth and find those that are hurt and wounded. I want you to find them and bring them to Me. I am a God Who can not lie. So I will tell you the truth. It will be hard. But I will always be with you. There will be a time when, like Jesus, you too will face judgment. But I have given you the power to lay down your life and to take it up again. The choice will be yours. I know you will choose correctly. And there will be some who will cry out because they think you will finally be in bondage and will actually ask for more time spent there. Then there will be those to cry out because you will be taken away from them. But always remember you are going to retrieve the thing that belongs to Me. And if no one gives Me praise, surely the rock will cry out.”
Unlike many others gone before the boy, he was confident of his journey. While feeling this confidence he heard a thundering voice coming from a direction he could not identify, “ALL POWER HAS BEEN GIVEN ME IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH!”
And the biggest party Heaven had ever seen popped off. The angels were dancing and singing. All the other spirits were invited into the Throne Room for the occasion. Jesus was home.
There was a light so illumines from the smile of the Father. His chest stuck out seeing His son walking toward Him. God met Him on the steps of the Throne.
“Dad, it’s good to be home again,” said the Reigning King as He embraced His Father.
“There is one more thing to be done, Son,” God handed Jesus the football.
Taking it Jesus looked down at the little boy said “Ah, yes, did you keep My Father good company while I was gone?”
“Ah, Yes, Sir.”
“Good. I tell you what, I just come back from a long trip and there is nothing I’d like to do more than to play a little football with the one who tried to knock our door down.”
Wide-eyed, the boy exclaimed “You mean with me?”
“Of course I mean with you. Come on let’s go. Take My hand. I have a great place we can play.”
And hand in hand, out of the Throne Room they went. They walked past mountains and ponds and plains. They passed all of the little boys friends and of course he waved at each one. He was walking with the King. Finally they came to there destination; the Formation Room.
“Hey, I’ve heard of this place. This is where all the souls are kept. Can we really play in here?”
We can start the game in here but you have to very quiet. Souls are very sensitive and can be disturbed easily up here.
The young lad quietly nodded his head as he prepared to catch a soft throw from the Messiah. They continue with a simple game of catch.
“So I take it My Dad had a talk with you huh?”
“Yeah, I watched you do almost everything down there. You went through a lot. All for a bunch of people who, in the end, didn’t even give you the praise.”
“Yeah, I know. But it was worth it. Every one of them are worth it.”
“Even the ones that beat you?” he asked as he gave his last toss to Jesus
“Especially those. Come here little guy. Come give your King a hug.”
They embraced.
“I love you, Jonathan.”
With a tear rolling down Jonathans face as if to imitate his Father, he replied, “I love you too, Jesus”
“You are a dear friend. A precious gift to Me. And as you have been given to Me as a gift from My Father, I send you to into time as a gift to the world. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.”
Jesus let him go and walked him a little further into the Formation Room with other souls and gently placed him between the lips of eternity and time. And there Jonathan was with his back to Heaven and face fixed to earth. A look came over his face as if the gravity of the situation was suddenly realized. He lifted up his head, pulled his shoulders back and stood as tall as he could.

Rotating his neck to see his King one more time he exclaimed, “I’ll never let a rock cry out for me!”
The Lord smiled and nodded with approval. Then held the foot ball up and just above a whisper commanded playmate, “Go long.”
And He threw the foot ball into earth and Jonathan went diving after it. And these were the last words spoken between the two of them in Heaven. Jesus went back to the Throne Room to take His rightful place on His Throne to watch Jonathan be birthed into the world with the Father.
And God said to His Son, “I do hope he doesn’t think that’s a coincidence.”
“What’s that Dad?”
“His mother’s named Mary, too.”

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