The Stranger - A True Fairly Tale

The Stranger

by Tim Shaner – May 2014

Once upon a time, there was a world with two kingdoms. Each kingdom had its own king – one Good King and one wicked king. The people who lived in the land of the wicked king were oppressed. They suffered, and were compelled to live out their existence by working hard for their king. But in return, the wicked king rewarded them with pleasurable things. Most of them were deceived and never thought they were part of the king's forced-labor. To them, this all just seemed normal. “This is what we were born into, and this is our destiny forever,” they said to themselves. “Besides, our king is good to us. He rewards us.”

“Pleasure...thrills...excitement,” the wicked king told them. “That's what I have in store for you. Just bow down and worship me. I am your good king and I will reward you with pleasure, thrills, and excitement.” The king taught them that their sinful lives were the true fulfillment of their self worth. “Sin is to be regarded as the highest achievement of one's self destiny,” the wicked king told them.

But for some of the people, the excitement of the pleasurable things began to wear off – and they began to question the king. They said to him, “We have served you faithfully our entire lives, your majesty, but we are prisoners. We suffer in this life and we have no relief. Some of are questioning what our purpose is. We have no where to go, and we have nothing else to do, so we turn to sin. Your majesty, this sin gives us relief for a short time, but then we face even more misery. So we go back to sin. It is like we are slaves.”

“Slaves?” The king snapped back. “Why, you are completely free to do as you wish, with whomever you wish. Sin is your unending source of what's good. It's what feels good. I have given you everything you need. I allow each of you to live your lives as you see fit...to do as you please. Now go away, before I punish you.”

The people went back to their lives. They tried to tell themselves that their life of sin was fulfilling and that it gave them purpose. They tried to hold on to their king's promises, but they lived in despair.

One day a stranger appeared in their kingdom. He was kind and loving, and performed many miracles...and he also healed many of them. He was different – he did not sin like everyone else. He was perfect. The king tried to entice him to sin. He took him aside and told him, “I see you are unlike the others, for you are special indeed. I am here to make you an offer...an offer you can't refuse. I will give you not only power, but I will give you all the treasures of my kingdom. All that is required is to just bow down and worship me. This is the one thing that sets you apart from everyone else in my kingdom. They all worship me...but not you. You have so much going for you...you have so much potential...that's why I want to make you my 2nd in command...if you would only worship me. Just one simple bow.”

But the stranger refused. The stranger said that his allegiance was not with the wicked king. In fact, he disobeyed the wicked king by not worshiping him. Instead, he obeyed the Good King from the neighboring kingdom. From then on, he became an enemy of the wicked king.

Right away, the stranger went out and told others about the Good King from the other kingdom. He explained to them that the Good King was his father. He spent several years talking about his father...encouraging people that there was a way out of their slavery. He gave them hope, and he loved them, and they loved him.

But not everyone loved the stranger. Many people felt satisfied with serving the wicked king. They loved their sin and did not want to give up their sinful lives. They mocked the stranger and tried to trap him...and they even tried to kill him.

But the stranger continued to talk about his father. And many people believed in him. These people were unhappy with serving the wicked king, but they were scared to speak out against him. They were scared because people wanted to kill the stranger.

The stranger spoke to them, “I will be killed. I will suffer and they will kill me. But be of good joy...I will live again. I have chosen you to come to my father's kingdom. You are living here for now, but you are not part of this kingdom. Your slavery to sin will die when I die...and you will be set free.”

One day, the stranger was killed by the wicked king. But what the stranger said would happen, came true – he came back from the grave! He performed the most incredible miracle of all time. He defeated the wicked king and the people were set free from slavery! The wicked king meant to destroy him by killing him, but the wicked king was outsmarted...it was he who was destroyed...forever.

Because of what happened, millions of people followed the stranger. But he was no longer a stranger to them, for he called them his friends. They became part of his kingdom – the kingdom with his father. And even though they still lived in the kingdom of the wicked king, they were happy because their true inheritance was with the Good King. And they went out and told others...about the Good King...and about the stranger – who was not a stranger anymore. He became their Savior. And they lived happily ever after.

The End

(Tim Shaner is the senior pastor of Roots Family Church in Lake Elsinore. Call 951-764-7642 for more info.)