An eerie silence filled the air as a soft breeze hovered over a multitude of people. To stand up high, the eye could see no end to the mass. However, in front of the multitude, there was a line which extended infinitely left and infinitely right. Though everyone stood toe to toe with the line, no one dared to cross it. Every person stood motionless. It was as if fear was an unspoken rule which was mandatory to follow.
However, in the midst of the crowd, a faint footstep was heard. Then another and another. A young man slowly made his way through the crowd as quiet voices whispered disapproval. The closer he came to the line, the louder the voices grew. Eventually, the people began to lay their hands on him in an attempt to hold him back. None the less, the young man finally came toe to toe with the dreaded line. Though the atmosphere smelled of doubt, he took a deep breath, smiled, looked heavenward, and then stepped over the line.
*BOOM*
A speeding bullet grazed the young man’s shoulder. Every heart skipped a beat.. all except for the ever steady heart of the young man. With one final look towards heaven, he sprinted full speed into the endless frontier! A whole garrison of gunmen began firing at the young man. Bullets pierced his side, hands, feet, and every other place encompassing his now mutilated body. His powerful sprint was now an excruciatingly painful crawl; all the while leaving behind a seemingly endless trail of blood. With one final attempt to lunge forward, his frail body fell limp on the bloody ground.
He was dead.
The all-consuming fear filled crowd broke out with mixed emotions. Some screamed. Some laughed. Some cried. Some mocked. However, it soon became a horrific chorus of insults and ridicule. However, no matter how many tried to look away, they could do nothing but look down upon what once looked like a fine young man with so much potential.
But then suddenly a Man was seen in the distance beyond the line. He was sprinting faster than one could have ever imagined. As he arrived at the young man’s corpse, He fell down, sobbing. But wait! He wasn’t sad! In fact, He was sobbing tears of joy! He laid His hands on the corpse and said, “My friend! You have heeded the call. You have left all to find Me. You have taken up your cross. You have sought me with your whole heart. Now arise!”
The young man’s bullet pierced hand suddenly clenched on to the Man’s firm and strong wrist. Life began to flow through his body. The Man lifted up his arm and the young man slowly stood up to embrace His Savior. As they let go, the Man looked him in the eyes and said, “Come. Follow Me.” He then turned around to shout, “Fire away!”
The shocked garrison suddenly regained their senses and began firing their limitless amount of ammunition at the Man guarding His follower. Never before had anyone seen so many bullets puncture a single human body. It was as if He were dead, and yet walking as if alive. The young man, in the same condition, kept his trusting eyes upon his leading Savior. For if he looked away for but a moment, he knew that the bullets would once again lodge into his broken body. His life was no longer his own, and he knew it. In fact, the only way to move forward was if His Savior moved forward for him. Every step he took was not his own. Every breath he took was not his own. He was dead, and yet His Savior kept Him alive.
This endeavor continued for days and nights. Weeks past. Months. Years. Every moment was a battle to carry on, but to see the Man bearing every bullet gave the young man the strength to take the next step. If a bullet were to lodge into the young man, all he need do was cry for help and his Savior would remove the bullet from his flesh.
As the years went by he began to notice something new. He had been so focused on his Savior that He had not noticed the young woman following her Savior as well. One day, he looked to his right to see the broken young woman. She smiled and said, “You weren’t the first or the last to cross that line.” The young man smiled. Over time, their Savior blessed their focus on Himself alone, and He intentionally pulled their walk closer together. In fact, the day came when their Savior turned around, took their two hands, placed them in each other and said,
“I bid thee walk as one.”
From that day on, if ever the young man took His eyes off of His Savior, his lovely wife would point him back. Vice versa, if ever his lovely wife would take her eyes off of her Savior, her husband would point her back. All the while their Lord’s bright smile and tears of joy would illuminate their walk.
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