Once there was this very wealthy young man. He lived in a great, elaborate house
with dozens of rooms. Each room was more comfortable and more beautiful than the
one before it. There were paintings and sculptures. Crystal chandeliers, golden,
ornate railings on the stairs. More beauty than most have ever seen.
One day he decided to invite the Lord to come home and stay with him. When the
Lord arrived, this young man offered him the very best room in the house. The
room was upstairs and at the end of the hall. "This room is yours, Jesus! Stay
as long as you like and you can do whatever you want to in this room, remember
Jesus, its all yours."
That evening after he had retired for the night there came a loud knocking at
the front door. The young man pulled on his robe and made his way downstairs.
When he opened the door he found that the devil had sent three of his demons to
attack the man. He quickly tried to close the door but one of the demons kept
sticking his foot in. Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed to slam
the door shut and returned to his room totally exhausted.
"Can you believe that", "he man thought. "Jesus is upstairs in my very best room
sleeping while I am down here battling demons. Oh, well, maybe he just didn't
hear". He slept fitfully that night.
The next day thing went along as normal and, being tired as he was, the young
man retired early that evening. Along about midnight, there came such a terrible
ruckus at the front door that the young man was sure that whatever it was would
tear the door down. He stumbled down the stairs once again and opened the door
to find that were dozens of demons now trying to get into his beautiful home.
For more than three hours he fought and struggled against the demons from hell
and finally overtook them enough to shut the door against their attack. All
energy seemed to fail him. He really didn't understand this at all. "Why won't
the Lord come to my rescue? Why does he allow me to fight all by myself? I feel
so alone". Troubled, he found his way to the sofa and fell into a restless
sleep.
The next morning he decided to inquire of the Lord about the happenings of the
last two evenings. Quietly he made his way to the elegant bedroom where he had
left Jesus. "Jesus," he called as he tapped at the door. "Lord, I don't
understand what is happening. For the last two nights I have had to fight the
demons away from my door while you laid up here sleeping. Don't you care about
me? Did I not give you the very best room in the house?"
He could see the tears building in Jesus' eyes but continued on, "I just don't
understand, I really thought that once I invited you in to live with me that you
would take care of me and I gave you the best room in my house and everything.
What more can I do?"
"My precious child," Jesus spoke so softly. "I do love and care for you. I
protect all that you have released into my care. But when you invited me to come
here and stay, you brought me to this lovely room and you shut the door to the
rest of your house. I am Lord of this room but I am not Master of this house. I
have protected this room and no demon may enter here."
"Oh, Lord, please forgive me. Take all of my house-it is yours. I am so sorry
that I never offered you all to begin with. I want you to have control of
everything." With this he flung open the bedroom door and knelt at Jesus' feet.
"Please forgive me Lord for being so selfish."
Jesus smiled and told him that He had already forgiven him and that He would
take care of things from now on. That night as the young man prepared for bed he
thought, "I wonder if those demons will return, I am so tired of fighting them
each and every night." But he knew that Jesus said that he would take care of
things from now on. Along about midnight the banging on the door was
frightening. The young man slipped out of his room in time to see Jesus going
down the stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung open the door, no need to be
afraid. Satan stood at the door this time demanding to be let in. "What do you
want, satan?" The Lord asked. The devil bowed low in the presence of the Lord,
"So sorry, I seem to have gotten the wrong address." And with that, he and the
demons all ran away.
There is a moral to this tale. Jesus wants all of you, not just a part. He will
take all that you give Him but nothing more. How much of your heart have you
given to the Lord? Are you keeping a portion of it away from Him?
Perhaps the attacks are coming more and more each day. Why not let the Lord
fight the battles for you? He is always victorious. I have found that God made
man simple, all of man's complexities are of his own devising.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
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