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Parable of fear and prophecy
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There was once a holy man too full of worry and fear; who had lived his life devoutly, by the righteousness and laws of the scripture. As he was
speaking with God one night, God said to him; "Tomorrow in the course of the day, shall there be a rotted tree branch fall from a tree, above your
head. It shall not cause you any permanent injury or death."
Heeding Gods words the man went about his duties the next day mindful of every tree that he passed under. Though God had assured him that he would not sustain major injury or death from the falling branch, the man was still mindful of the pain that it may cause when the branch strikes him. So much so that his duties and relationships throughout the course of the day suffered. The fear within his mind clouded all other emotions and saw him treat those around in a manner in which he would not have normally done. To his wife and children, his thoughts were preoccupied during the moments the sought for him. His work was not given the fullest attention of his standard that it deserve, due to his distraction.
Whilst the man was mindful to alter his path whilst he walked outside in the duration of the day; he did not pay mind to the birds played for him to see in the trees; nor notice the flowers which had just blossomed along his path.
At the end of the day; the man had not encountered any falling branches and was therefore a little confused. So to his mind then throughout the next day, did he add the burden of trying to understand why this had not happened. "Had God spared me?" he thought, "If so, then by what measure was I granted such mercy so that I may learn to live my life within it's grace?"
By this worry and confusion, the mans duties throughout this day also suffered greatly, until at the conclusion of the day, he had still not encountered any rotten branches.
The following day, as he was leaving his home; a large branch which appeared healthy cracked in a tree above his head. Capturing the mans attention, he looked up and saw what was about to fall. His thought immediately turned to Gods words, and to what it might be that he had done recently to anger God, and see him deserving of what was about to happen. He thought; 'perhaps it was because he had doubted what he was told would come to pass'.
The branch fell and struck the man upon the head. But just as he had been told, he was not injured beyond a lump he now wore where it struck him.
Turning to God the man asked; "God, was this because I doubted the things you told me would come to be? Please tell me what I did to deserve this, so that I may see it never happen again!"
To him God replied; "What makes you think it was the things you did, which saw you hurt by that which fell upon you?"
"For can not the things we don't do, also cause us as much pain as those things we do? Does regret of 'what could have been', taste any different to the regret of things 'which should not have been'?"
"I ask you my friend; had I had not filled your head with concern for something which may come to pass, would you have seen the beautiful things you missed in these days of you life; that you were gifted to bring you joy and happiness?"
"The birds which sang their songs for you, the flowers which scented the air of your passing? Your children speaking with you to seek your wisdom? Your wife's words of love? If you had not been blinded by that you could not yet see, would you have seen your eyes opened to all those things you could?"
Not yet understanding the lesson God had given to him, the man replied; "But my God; I truly do appreciate all that you have given me in life, and try to live my life by your teachings."
God responded and said; "Then why did you forsake the beauty that you were given in these days, for something as simple as a falling branch? Something which I had told you, would not cause you serious injury or death?"
"If you submit to being one of those who are busy longing for things which have passed, or worrying about things which are yet to come, then you shall become one who forgets to live."
"By polluting your head with concern for things of the future that are beyond your control, you not only miss all the small miracles and gifts you are given a chance to experience everyday; but you also feed the regret that you may feel in future for having missed such things."
"Did it serve you any benefit in avoiding that beyond your control, to know that it would come to be?"
Considering Gods words, the man replied; "Respectfully, It may have if I had known the branch which would fall upon me was rotten, I would have seen it either cut down, or avoided it by grace of your warning."
God said unto him; "But if you had been able to see that such a branch was rotten, then what need would have had for me to warn you? To identify and remove a branch that is very obviously rotten, is something for which you do not require my help, you need only your own eyes and mind."
Understanding what he was being told the man asked God; "But my God, if you had simply told me that it would be this exact hour of this morning it would occur, instead of two days prior; I may have been better prepared for it, as to avoid it."
God answered him; "Would knowing the hour by which it came, change in any way the fact that it does come?"
"If such acts are within my plan, then how would knowing the hour; or any actions you could take within that hour; prevent this from being so? You said yourself that such a branch did not appear to you as rotten, so should you not understand that you can not always see all things within Gods plan, even when they are right in front of you. Is it not also true that things you cannot see, would have seen you pass under it even in an hour of knowing, with your eyes cast forth to locate that which you believe you should be weary of?"
"Regardless of whether I had told you of the tree and the hour; or I had not told you even that a branch would fall; did you not hear the branch crack above your head?"
"Did you not have time to not only look upon that which was to fall, but also consider why such a thing was to befall you? Do you think that I would warn you that such a thing was to come, if I wanted you to sit and wait for it to take place?"
"Do you think I would have seen the branch crack loud enough to bring it to your attention, then by my hand, stay its fall for a moment; so that I could see you wait for it to fall upon you? I told you only that a branch would fall from above you, not that you should let it strike you."
"Did I not give you ears to hear the branch break? Did I not give you eyes to see it was to fall? Did I not give you a mind with which to identify such a danger? And have you not also been given legs swift enough that they could have seen you clear of its fall?"
"It is only by the fear and worry which you carry in your heart, that you now find yourself hurting. For I have graced you with not only all those things which would have seen free of the pain it has caused you, but also warned you that you may need to use them to do so."
"I do not do this for you all so that you may live in fear; but so that you may live in hope! So that you know that I love you all and that there is always someone watching over you. Who knows that you will experience pain, and wants to see you prepared to deal with such when it arises."
Heeding Gods words the man went about his duties the next day mindful of every tree that he passed under. Though God had assured him that he would not sustain major injury or death from the falling branch, the man was still mindful of the pain that it may cause when the branch strikes him. So much so that his duties and relationships throughout the course of the day suffered. The fear within his mind clouded all other emotions and saw him treat those around in a manner in which he would not have normally done. To his wife and children, his thoughts were preoccupied during the moments the sought for him. His work was not given the fullest attention of his standard that it deserve, due to his distraction.
Whilst the man was mindful to alter his path whilst he walked outside in the duration of the day; he did not pay mind to the birds played for him to see in the trees; nor notice the flowers which had just blossomed along his path.
At the end of the day; the man had not encountered any falling branches and was therefore a little confused. So to his mind then throughout the next day, did he add the burden of trying to understand why this had not happened. "Had God spared me?" he thought, "If so, then by what measure was I granted such mercy so that I may learn to live my life within it's grace?"
By this worry and confusion, the mans duties throughout this day also suffered greatly, until at the conclusion of the day, he had still not encountered any rotten branches.
The following day, as he was leaving his home; a large branch which appeared healthy cracked in a tree above his head. Capturing the mans attention, he looked up and saw what was about to fall. His thought immediately turned to Gods words, and to what it might be that he had done recently to anger God, and see him deserving of what was about to happen. He thought; 'perhaps it was because he had doubted what he was told would come to pass'.
The branch fell and struck the man upon the head. But just as he had been told, he was not injured beyond a lump he now wore where it struck him.
Turning to God the man asked; "God, was this because I doubted the things you told me would come to be? Please tell me what I did to deserve this, so that I may see it never happen again!"
To him God replied; "What makes you think it was the things you did, which saw you hurt by that which fell upon you?"
"For can not the things we don't do, also cause us as much pain as those things we do? Does regret of 'what could have been', taste any different to the regret of things 'which should not have been'?"
"I ask you my friend; had I had not filled your head with concern for something which may come to pass, would you have seen the beautiful things you missed in these days of you life; that you were gifted to bring you joy and happiness?"
"The birds which sang their songs for you, the flowers which scented the air of your passing? Your children speaking with you to seek your wisdom? Your wife's words of love? If you had not been blinded by that you could not yet see, would you have seen your eyes opened to all those things you could?"
Not yet understanding the lesson God had given to him, the man replied; "But my God; I truly do appreciate all that you have given me in life, and try to live my life by your teachings."
God responded and said; "Then why did you forsake the beauty that you were given in these days, for something as simple as a falling branch? Something which I had told you, would not cause you serious injury or death?"
"If you submit to being one of those who are busy longing for things which have passed, or worrying about things which are yet to come, then you shall become one who forgets to live."
"By polluting your head with concern for things of the future that are beyond your control, you not only miss all the small miracles and gifts you are given a chance to experience everyday; but you also feed the regret that you may feel in future for having missed such things."
"Did it serve you any benefit in avoiding that beyond your control, to know that it would come to be?"
Considering Gods words, the man replied; "Respectfully, It may have if I had known the branch which would fall upon me was rotten, I would have seen it either cut down, or avoided it by grace of your warning."
God said unto him; "But if you had been able to see that such a branch was rotten, then what need would have had for me to warn you? To identify and remove a branch that is very obviously rotten, is something for which you do not require my help, you need only your own eyes and mind."
Understanding what he was being told the man asked God; "But my God, if you had simply told me that it would be this exact hour of this morning it would occur, instead of two days prior; I may have been better prepared for it, as to avoid it."
God answered him; "Would knowing the hour by which it came, change in any way the fact that it does come?"
"If such acts are within my plan, then how would knowing the hour; or any actions you could take within that hour; prevent this from being so? You said yourself that such a branch did not appear to you as rotten, so should you not understand that you can not always see all things within Gods plan, even when they are right in front of you. Is it not also true that things you cannot see, would have seen you pass under it even in an hour of knowing, with your eyes cast forth to locate that which you believe you should be weary of?"
"Regardless of whether I had told you of the tree and the hour; or I had not told you even that a branch would fall; did you not hear the branch crack above your head?"
"Did you not have time to not only look upon that which was to fall, but also consider why such a thing was to befall you? Do you think that I would warn you that such a thing was to come, if I wanted you to sit and wait for it to take place?"
"Do you think I would have seen the branch crack loud enough to bring it to your attention, then by my hand, stay its fall for a moment; so that I could see you wait for it to fall upon you? I told you only that a branch would fall from above you, not that you should let it strike you."
"Did I not give you ears to hear the branch break? Did I not give you eyes to see it was to fall? Did I not give you a mind with which to identify such a danger? And have you not also been given legs swift enough that they could have seen you clear of its fall?"
"It is only by the fear and worry which you carry in your heart, that you now find yourself hurting. For I have graced you with not only all those things which would have seen free of the pain it has caused you, but also warned you that you may need to use them to do so."
"I do not do this for you all so that you may live in fear; but so that you may live in hope! So that you know that I love you all and that there is always someone watching over you. Who knows that you will experience pain, and wants to see you prepared to deal with such when it arises."
"I do not do this because I want you to then focus on the pain I warn you of; which may or may not come to be. For to focus on fear and pain, is to
know fear and pain."
"As you are one of my children with far too much fear in their heart, I have taught you this so that you might realise that fear can only exist in the hearts of those who let it."
"If no branch had ever fallen upon you, would the fear you felt whilst awaiting to happen have served you at all within your life?"
"All you had felt, for something which did not come to be; would become nothing more than an irrational emotion, which was never anything more than a product of your own mind."
"Such fear acts as a virus to your emotions and inhibits your ability to experience joy in even the most simple things in life."
"Those who can free themselves of such irrational fears, are those who will find all their paths, experiences and darkest nights in life far brighter by it, and shall truly know 'The light of life'."
"As you are one of my children with far too much fear in their heart, I have taught you this so that you might realise that fear can only exist in the hearts of those who let it."
"If no branch had ever fallen upon you, would the fear you felt whilst awaiting to happen have served you at all within your life?"
"All you had felt, for something which did not come to be; would become nothing more than an irrational emotion, which was never anything more than a product of your own mind."
"Such fear acts as a virus to your emotions and inhibits your ability to experience joy in even the most simple things in life."
"Those who can free themselves of such irrational fears, are those who will find all their paths, experiences and darkest nights in life far brighter by it, and shall truly know 'The light of life'."
edit on 20-11-2013 by BornOfSin because: (no reason given)
reply to post by BornOfSin
Why can't I check off a "star" on any of your blogs. Is this your doing? Or anothers?
Why can't I check off a "star" on any of your blogs. Is this your doing? Or anothers?
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