Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Passport (07/25/05)
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TITLE: Passport Heaven | Previous Challenge Entry
By Brian Tolentino
08/01/05 -
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“Take out your passports and approach one man at a time,” the angel said sternly.
It was an odd request, but the three men followed orders.
The first man approached the angel with a gigantic grin on his face. He proudly handed over five worn out passports.
“I can see you have been to many places,” the angel said.
“Oh yes I have,” the man said. “I climbed Everest, visited aboriginal tribes in Australia, backpacked through Europe, fished in the Amazon and praised God in the Rockies. I did it all. My life was an adventure and I experienced God everyday of my life.”
“Yes you did,” the angel said. “But what did you do for Him.”
“What do you mean?” the man replied.
“You experienced God for yourself, but even the heathen experiences the splendor and glory of the King. What I am asking is how did you serve Him?”
The man stood stupefied, his grin erased from his face.
“The answer is you served yourself,” the angel said. “God’s plan for your life included adventures and travels beyond your wildest dreams. Of course they also included many trials and tribulations as well, but these were meant to make you stronger, and in the long run happier. You ignored His calling for your life because it did not fit your plans. I’m sorry but your passport is no good here.”
The second man approached the angel.
“I think you are going to be impressed with this,” the man said.
He handed the angel his passport.
“I organized homeless shelters in Romania, built churches in the Czech Republic and preached in hostile conditions in China. I traveled the world preaching His name,” the man said with confidence.
“Yes you did,” the angel said. “But you served yourself.”
“What do you mean?” The man said stunned by the angel’s comment.
“You were destined and designed to serve Him in your hometown of Los Angeles,” the angel said. “You sought out missionary work in Romania, the Czech Republic and Japan as a way of experiencing your own thrills and ambitions, and failed to listen to His clear and perfect voice. When you prayed, you prayed to the air. When you fed the poor you thought about your good deeds. Everything you accomplished was done in vain because the King was not with you. I am sorry, but your passport is not good in heaven.”
The third man approached the angel.
“Where is your passport,” the angel said.
“I don’t have a passport,” the man replied.
“Why not?”
“Because the King never told me to leave my hometown,” the man said. He told me to minister to the sinners of my own community.”
“Oh yea,” the angel said. "The King told me about you. “You worked as a cashier at the local grocery store. Hundreds of people came to know the King because of your energy and zeal for life. The enemy tempted you to become a sophisticated and honorable businessman. But you did not fall for his trap. Being a businessman was not your calling in life. Everyday you prayed to the King to keep you humble and to guide your path. You were not rich or successful in the world’s eyes. But in the King’s eyes you were a humble and obedient servant."
“Welcome home!”
Matthew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesized in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?’ And then I will delare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
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