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There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning, he came to the church carrying a rusty, bent, old birdcage and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised—and as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak."
I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this birdcage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright.
I stopped the lad and asked, 'What do you have there, son?''
Just some old birds,' came the reply.
'What are you going to do with them?' I asked.
'Take 'em home and have fun with 'em,' he answered. 'I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time.'
'But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?'
'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 for those 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 of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.
Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit.
And then the pastor began to tell this story:
One day, Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting.
"Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew 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 how to hate and abuse each other, how to lie and mistreat one another. I'm gonna teach them how to steal, kill, and destroy just like me. I'm really gonna have fun!"
"And what will you do when you're done with them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, I'll kill 'em all," Satan glared proudly.
"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don't want those people. They're no good. Why, you'll take 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?" Jesus asked again.
Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears, and your life."
"It is DONE," Jesus said.
Then He paid the price.
The pastor picked up the cage and walked away from the pulpit.
It’s interesting—and completely unsurprising, isn’t it?—how each of us has a proclivity to read into this article what we want to read, hear what we’d like to hear and see what we desire to see.
Hopefully, you’ll keep that at a minimum for now because there will always be competing angles and perspectives, no matter what. It’s part of human nature. It’s part of the plan.
Just don’t lose sight of what Jesus did for you while you’re tangled up, slugging it out with others. Or as a preeminent follower of His said, “As those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
