by Robert Cosmar
One day, God sat with three of His friends waiting for the return of two of his creations, Man and Woman. He had three special gifts He wanted to give to them.
As the two creations approached, a big smile came to God's face, but He also sensed that something was wrong. The creations were hiding something. He could tell. Still, God decided to keep His own counsel and not say anything. He wanted to see what would happen.
"Hello Father" said the two almost at the same time, as they approached. “We would like you to meet some friends we brought along with us. We met them on our journey.
"Fine," said God as He looked at them. He loved them both dearly and wanted only the best for them. "Where are they?" God asked.
The two were so nervous that they forgot to check what had happened to their new companions. Looking around, they spotted them hiding behind some rocks. Excitedly, they waved and motioned for the new friends to come closer. Timidly, each one came from behind the rocks, or crawled out from under the rubble that lay along the path.
God frowned as He saw them approach. He knew all too well who they were, but realized that by granting His creations freedom, they were free to choose their friends.
Slowly, the five new friends approached God and his two creations.
"Father, I would like you to meet our new friends. This is Pride. This one is Reason. Here is Logic. This is Ego, and the shy one is Fear." said the male creation, as if he were seeking approval from God.
"I see," said God," and where did you meet them?" He asked.
"Well, after You gave us the freedom to explore Your kingdom and learn what we could, they just ... well, appeared." The male creation answered.
"Yes, we became confused and anxious one day as we walked and talked between ourselves. We began to wonder who we were inside." The female creation stated.
God smiled at them, while at the same time, their companions sought to hide behind them and shield themselves from any direct contact with God. "Well this changes everything," said God, with a knowing look in His eyes.
The two creations looked surprised and a bit stunned. "What do you mean?" they asked.
"Well, I had three valuable gifts to give you both, but now I cannot give them to you," said God.
Sadness filled their hearts as they felt an inexplicable loss within their being.
"But, continued God with a compassionate smile, you can choose to receive them because you have your own freedom to choose.
The two creations began to beam, their faces alight with smiles. (God always gave great gifts).
"However," said God, “there is a choice you will have to make."
The smiles turned to concern and uneasiness as they realized for the first time that they would have to make a decision and the responsibility would be on their shoulders. Up to this time, they were always used to God giving them everything.
"My gifts will have nothing to do with your friends. It is not that My gifts harbor any ill will towards your friends, but rather, it is that they have nothing in common with them," said God.
"Well, can we see Your gifts and may we talk to them?" asked the two.
"I am sorry, My children, I cannot do that. You will have to trust Me and decide for yourselves," said God
A perplexed look came over their faces and for the first time they felt an inner alienation from God. They had always let Him decide and now they were going to have to choose. Not knowing what to do, they decided to confer with their new friends.
God watched and knew what would happen. It was inevitable. It was necessary. For them to know the importance of His gifts, they had to experience the freedom to go their own way. They needed a reference point from which to compare His gifts against their choices.
A short time passed and then they spoke. "Father, we have decided to go with our friends. We will discuss Your offer in more detail with them. They have some excellent suggestions and we think we need more time to explore them."
"Fine," said God. I will even create a world for you in which time exists. This will be a place where you can be away from My influence and learn from your friends. But, I warn you, there is a danger there. In that world, you could forget how to contact Me and you might not remember My gifts for you."
The two looked worried, but their new friends assured them they would be beside them so they would not feel alone.
"Have you reached your decision?" asked God.
"Yes, Father, we want to go to the new world with our friends," they answered.
"Very well, children. I would like you to meet My gifts now," God told them.
"This is Wisdom. Over here is Understanding, and this one is Knowledge. They are My closest counselors and they help Me in all that I do.
I was prepared to share them with you, but you have chosen otherwise. You will now experience the freedom to choose, along with your friends’ counsel, in the place you have chosen.
Remember what I have told you about the danger of forgetting these gifts. I have placed a longing in your hearts, which will grow weary, in time. You will create and discover many things in your new world, children, but they will not last.
So you will not despair, I am giving you yet another companion to help you remember your true hearts. This one is called Death."
"What is Death, Father?" asked the two creations.
"It is a friend of Fear, over there. Death will also help you to remember what is really important and expose the true nature of your friends’ counsel to you. It will help your hearts to seek Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge and they, in turn, will help you remember Me and seek your true home again.
The two creations smiled wanly at each other as they turned and walked away from God with their new friends. It seemed with each step, a loneliness filled them. Something was leaving them and they could not understand what it was.
Fear, Pride, Ego, Reason and Logic all explained that it was okay, because they were with them. Soon they arrived at the place with time that God had created for them. The lonely feeling left and was eventually replaced by excitement for the beauty and abundant possibilities they found in this new world.
Together, all of them discussed great plans and shared new ideas about this world and what they might do there. Nonetheless, something was missing. They missed God and, over time, they realized they had forgotten how to even contact Him, just like He said would happen. They even forgot where He was and what He looked like, so they made up stories to hold the memory, so to speak.
But, even the stories did not help them. Something was missing in the stories and fables. While they distracted the mind, the very core of their being felt lost, alone, and very empty.
As the years went by, Fear and Death at times would remind them of their emptiness, but they would just talk to Reason and Logic and forget again. It was even worse for their children, because they grew up with only the stories about God. They had never had the experience of His presence. Their despair was far greater.
Finally, in their later years, and with the help of Death, they began to see that Pride, Logic, Reason, Ego and Fear had lied to them all along. They had promised a fulfillment they could not deliver. God had been right!
A horrible despair filled them both as they saw the choices of their life and realized the dire consequences. But while Death was showing them the truth of their condition, he also reminded them of the promise that God had given them with Death. They were to remember their hearts and that Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge were there to lead them home again to God.
Tears filled their eyes as they realized that all their striving had been in vain. Through all the years they had been away from God. Nothing had ever really mattered, except Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge and knowing the way back home.
Robert S. Cosmar is a writer, blogger and the author of four books.
The Magic of Love and Intimacy
Awareness: Being Fully Alive
Trilogy of Awareness
Big Little Book of Whispers
Visit Robert's Blog
"A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write." ~CJ Heck
