The old pastor said as he ends his sermon, "I challenge anyone out here to rob my house at night. I will left my backdoor open. I assure you that there's no police, traps or anything that would get you into trouble, there you will find my treasure which has a value more than anything precious".
Some people laugh, some people got a weird look upon the pastor, some are dazzled, some are confused why would a pastor seriously challenged that idea. There was this certain young man was freshly went out of the prison. He got in jail for theft. He had no family and friends because they abandoned him. He just went for alms and made the side of the church as his stay. He heard the challenge of pastor.
This young man planned very well the things he would do. He spoke to himself, "This pastor had many members to lean on! I know that the tithes are for his own! I would steal all of them! Too bad that pastor was a jerk! I'm sure I can handle that jurassic! God had forsaken me and I know I don't have anything left in me and I don't care who would I perish for this deed. For I am now a nobody, I could do what I could want to! Curse this life, God is unjust and why am I living in this world!?".
The cold night have come and the young man is ready to rob the pastor's house. As the lights were switched off the house, he waited for about an hour. He covered his head with mask, with no doubting, he straight to the gate up the to backdoor.
"Well this is creepy, I feel something strange", he said to himself. As he went to kitchen, he saw a newly cooked garlic rice with sausages with coffee. His stomach started to rumble and said, "Well, I am hungry and I don't care". He quickly ate the food at the table and went straight to the hallway leading to living room.
As he walk slowly and quietly into that dark hallway, he saw that there were pastor's framed pictures spotlighted. These spotlights were luminating a little on the hallway. He saw them one by one. There was a framed pic of newspaper telling about a man who was jailed also for theft. The young man caught attention on the newspaper clip and saw the thief was the pastor! As he goes on the hallway there were pictures when the pastor's on jail. It was like a timeline portraying the past life of the old pastor.
As he is on the middle, that's the time that the pictures were the time that the pastor had went out the jail. He saw another picture of newspaper clip about a fire that ruined a family. The story is that after the pastor went out the jail, He didn't knew that his family was caught on an arson.
Teardrops were falling out of this hard hearted young man. He could relate to the pastor's past life. As on the end of the hall ways were now the pictures of his pastoral ministry, his church, his accomplishments and success. He went out the hallway with a tearful face and said, "I never cried out like this before!". He went on the living room and saw spotlighted pulpit with a bible. He went there, opened the bookmarked page and red the highlighted words quietly from Luke 23:39-43.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
He felt somewhat a brush of wind like goosebumps from his body. He cried loudly. As the tears flow from his eyes, his heart was so broke and feeling misarable.
Suddenly, the light came out then the old pastor came out downstairs. He quickly went down and embraced the young men. Pastor said, "I have been watching you from the security CCTVs. I know the hard pain you are right now and I could feel it because I have been there before. I felt hopeless, unloved, unnoticed, poor, wretched and misarable. I felt have lost my self, my desires, my family and everything. But when I met Jesus, everything changed. The Lord gives and also takes away. Do you want to be like that thief? He just trusted Jesus eventhough he was on near death. I know you have done something unforgivable in the eyes of men but in the eyes of God, you are precious and loved child, through him there is peace and hope! Like me, you could rise up from your ashes, God never leaves and forsakes and just let these situations for our own good, for the second time, Do you want to be the thief that let Jesus be his savior?". "Yes, yes,yes! I have never felt loved this way before, Thank you Jesus!", the young man answered and cried with sparkle in his eyes. The pastor said, "Take off that mask of past and move on to the new you!"
On that night the young man confessed his sins and claimed Jesus as his personal savior. He worked out his salvation and had real relationship to the creator. He had major changes now in his life and blessing comes all the way. He got a job and became active in the church where the old pastor went. He got loving wife and kids. He continues to inspire the youth with his story of hope. Jesus is the greatest treasure more than the worth of the world. He is the treasure that if you gave to others, you are not decreased rather increased more.
>Sin blocks the blessing and rewards that God had given us. That's why he sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, the worthy lamb who had been sacrificed for all of us. He made the bridge between man to God. Not just the blessing of this mercies and riches we claim but the eternal life for those who strived and accepted Jesus as the Lord and personal Savior as he rose from the grave defeating death. God bless you!
