 |
| Uninvited Visitor |
The knocking at my door was more of a violent scratching, like my dog does
when he wants inside.
I pulled the curtain aside and peered out to view the hooded dark figure as he continued to knock.
Opening the door just a crack was enough for him to push against the door and gain entrance even without a formal invitation.
When I asked his name, he only mumbled something and then quietly moved to a corner to sit and hide while he continued to observing me.
Finally I told him I was not certain that I wanted him in my home.
He spoke in whispers and in a nagging dialogue began to berate me and tell me how I was NO GOOD.
His voice came up a tone or two as he gained confidence in what he was about. “You do nothing right, and no one likes you,” was spewing from his lips.
“It was all your fault and you have no one to blame except yourself,” he continued.
“Even God will never forgive you, and you will never make heaven your home!”
How could I shut up this disgusting creature, and how could I entreat him to leave?
All that he alleged was both true and at the same time false, but now I was hurting in the pit of my stomach as he continued to criticize and rebuke my being.
Crying out to God for help seemed not to reach heaven. I had asked forgiveness, long ago, and had become a “good Christian,” so why was he doing this to me?
My thoughts turned to recent readings in my Bible, and I remembered a verse in Romans that I quoted often. I began to speak it out loud to this strange uninvited visitor.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Finally with a bold voice, I spoke to my visitor, and told him that he must leave NOW and not return.
With a crooked smile, he raised himself, and slowly slinked toward the open door and left.
But as he trudged down the path, he turned and called to me – – – “I’ll be back!!"
I pulled the curtain aside and peered out to view the hooded dark figure as he continued to knock.
Opening the door just a crack was enough for him to push against the door and gain entrance even without a formal invitation.
When I asked his name, he only mumbled something and then quietly moved to a corner to sit and hide while he continued to observing me.
Finally I told him I was not certain that I wanted him in my home.
He spoke in whispers and in a nagging dialogue began to berate me and tell me how I was NO GOOD.
His voice came up a tone or two as he gained confidence in what he was about. “You do nothing right, and no one likes you,” was spewing from his lips.
“It was all your fault and you have no one to blame except yourself,” he continued.
“Even God will never forgive you, and you will never make heaven your home!”
How could I shut up this disgusting creature, and how could I entreat him to leave?
All that he alleged was both true and at the same time false, but now I was hurting in the pit of my stomach as he continued to criticize and rebuke my being.
Crying out to God for help seemed not to reach heaven. I had asked forgiveness, long ago, and had become a “good Christian,” so why was he doing this to me?
My thoughts turned to recent readings in my Bible, and I remembered a verse in Romans that I quoted often. I began to speak it out loud to this strange uninvited visitor.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Finally with a bold voice, I spoke to my visitor, and told him that he must leave NOW and not return.
With a crooked smile, he raised himself, and slowly slinked toward the open door and left.
But as he trudged down the path, he turned and called to me – – – “I’ll be back!!"
