Once Upon a time in Heaven...

Once upon a time, in a place called Heaven, a curious scene unfolded.

The old king sat at the head of the round table, with His head bowed and deep in thought. Around Him sat His closest advisers, Sir Michael, Sir Gabriel and others and His Son stood next to Him.

“You know why we are here,” said the king. The earth is in shambles, people are rebellious, and no one wants to live in peace with each other, let alone listen to me. In fact, some of them openly hate me “

“I made the earth and created humans to have a relationship with me. This relationship characterized by love, worship, and communion. I wanted Humans to live in harmony with me and each other.”

“I wanted them to take care of the planet and all its inhabitants, love me and love each other.

But most of all I wanted them to do all of this of their own accord – so I gave them free will. And what did they do with that great power of free will and choice?? They rebelled against me!

I gave them laws but they broke them. I gave them a way to atone for their wrong doings – they did that and kept on sinning and kept on atoning. That became a vicious circle- A catch 22. Where was the time for me? Where was our communion?

I told some of them, you are my people. I made agreements with them. But alas, nothing changed. They sinned – sacrificed for forgiveness and then sinned again. They marvel at my creation, yet they treat their own lives, with disdain.  And on top of all of this, that fellow Lucifer – he keeps reigniting their wickedness by either scaring the life out of them or simply enticing them".

"I tried to destroy them but felt pity. How can I completely destroy what I have created? I regretted my creation, but I did save a handful to start over again. They did and started over on their wickedness as well".

So, I see no way out. I cannot have such dreadful creatures be a part of this place and expect them to glorify me or even praise me and worship me. I find it distasteful and dreadful. If any of you have any ideas, please let me know”.

The Kings speech was followed by pin drop silence. Everyone there knew the problem. No one had the solution.

Archangel Sir Michael spoke up after deep thought – “My Lord, with Lucifer playing such an active role, we need a more permanent solution. The people are weak; its not that they don’t want to follow the law but they are not able to for various reasons of greed and temptation by Lucifer. They love their life on earth too much to bother about any plans for heaven.”

“I know,” said the king. So, what is to be done? Should we release all the fury of Heaven on them? They would deserve it! But here is the problem: I created them. I love them. How can I annihilate them?”

Then Sir Michael spoke again – “Lord, why not just finish the source? Let us wage war on Lucifer and his cohort. You know we can finish them and once and for all solve this mess.”

“Well Sir Michael, we can do that, but I gave Humans a very potent power: THE Power of Free choice. If we finish Lucifer, Humans will follow me by default – whereas I want them to want to follow me and love me by choice. The problem is Lucifers war is with me, but he uses the humans as a tool to fight me.”

“Father”, said the Son, “maybe I have a solution.”

“Speak my son: show me how we can save these creatures from Lucifers hand? And if I give them a blanket forgiveness every time, Lucifer will accuse me of not following my own rules for a sacrifice, even though that sacrifice has become more of a convenience for them”.

“Well Father, you remember how you asked Abraham to sacrifice his son? He proved His allegiance to you and of course you didn’t make him do it, but think about it. Why not make a one-time sacrifice for all times? Why not give them love commandments instead of law commandments?

“Explain this to me my Son. What you say is interesting”.

“Well, we know for sure that humans have a rebellious and sinful nature. And that is the chasm between you and them, because you cannot bear to see sin. While a blanket forgiveness can be given, Lucifer will mock you for ignoring your own rules and in any case they sin again. So why don't we make a one-time sacrifice?”

“I have two questions my son. First who or what is so Holy that it’s sacrifice will cover the entire humanity – current and future? Second, you said yourself they will sin again, so how will such a sacrifice help? It will never be one time.”

“Well, I will leave that to you. I do not know”.

The King slowly lifted His head, “I know”. “It has to be me or a part of me.”

“What???” The entire gathering stood up in shock and dismay.

“My Lord and my King,” said Sir Michael, “if you are sacrificed the entire heavens will be destroyed by Lucifer. You cannot vacate your power!”

“Sir Michael, the issue is not one of power but of a moral right to govern. Lucifer knows that. But you are right. Lucifer can misrepresent that. After all, he is a master story teller and deceiver. He can see it as a sign of weakness and fear.”

“There is a solution though: we are a Trinity. As the trinity I exist in three persons: As God the father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. So, a sacrifice of any of these will be good enough. But humans have to see it, which means that the sacrifice has to be in human form, so that all can see the suffering and torture that the sacrifice will go through, for them. Therefore, it has to be someone who can take on a human form – which can only be my Son”.

“He is my Kings only son” said Sir Michael “our entire army will protect Him. How can you or He be sacrificed? My Lord, how can we accept that? Or even think about it?”

“The King looked crestfallen, “Sir Michael, it pains me no end. Which father can send His only child to a death of horror and torture of Sin? Yet, it needs to be done. My Son, will you do it?”

“Yes Father, but what will happen in the long term? Humans will sin again and again. Will my sacrifice be worth it?”

“You are right. Yet we can address that issue through the Holy Spirit – my Spirit. The Holy Spirit's primary role is to indwell, guide, and empower believers. The Holy Spirit can work within individuals to transform and sanctify them, helping them grow in their faith and live according to my will, as long people choose to believe in your sacrifice and in you. And that will happen only if they see that sacrifice happening right in front of them.”

“It will be the ultimate demonstration of my love for humanity. It will show that I was willing to give my only Son to save people from their sins, which will otherwise convict them forever to Lucifers cohort”.

“This sacrifice also satisfies the demands of my divine justice, addressing the consequences of sin while offering forgiveness and redemption to humanity.”

“The trinity is key to all of this: The Holy Spirit's role is different but equally vital, focusing on guiding, empowering, and transforming believers. They have been given a conscience, but it is for the Holy Spirit to reside in them and guide that conscience. Together, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will work in harmony to accomplish my plan for salvation.”

“My Son, are you ready for such a sacrifice?”

“My Father, you tested Abraham with willingness for the ultimate sacrifice. He passed. Today you ask me for the same. Of course, I am willing and ready. The point is, are you?”

“I don’t know my son”. “I know I will suffer the worst kind of heart break anyone could feel. But I will have to suffer that for these people. Of course, the Holy Spirit will need to bring you back to me and I will wait in heartbreak for that. Yes, my Son, I will have to do it.”

A sober mood fell upon the entire gathering. Contemplating the future they asked – “And how is this to be accomplished?”

“Send out prophecies of this plan through our prophets. Prepare the people. Prepare the ecosystem. This means a lot of work and time and effort, but it needs to be done. Choose people whom we can work through, good and evil. Identify the times when all of this will happen. Get it documented for future generations.”

And that is how we, the people in the story, in a land called Earth, were given hope and redemption. Our power of free choice created the problem in the first place, so today it is to be used wisely, based on wisdom given by our God in the Bible, because God paid a very heavy price indeed for our freedom.