Without Faith

Here’s a story to make you think. It is used with permission of the author, Steffi Rubin.

In the land of DONTBELIEVE, long ago, there lived a sad little people called the DONTBELIEVITS. They were little because they didn’t believe they could ever be tall. And they were sad, because they didn’t believe they could ever be happy.

In this land of DONTBELIEVE, people walked down the road and greeted each other by saying, “I don’t believe it.” The customary reply to this greeting was, “Me neither.”

The king’s name was DONTCOUNTONIT VII. He was mean and made his people work very, very hard. Every week work began early Monday morning and ended late Sunday night.

Naturally the king didn’t believe in vacations, sick pay, coffee breaks or social security.

Occasionally, the people of DONTBELIEVE would plead with the king for a day off. But the king simply grunted and recited his own name: “Don’t Count On It.” And that would be that.

At the same time a quiet young man lived in the land of DONTBELIEVE. He lived in a modest home in a poor section of the country. He worked hard in a menial job and seldom spoke.

A neighbor once greeted the young man with “I don’t believe it.” He replied, “WHY NOT?”

This unusual behavior created quite a stir. Some thought he was secretly trying to overthrow King DONTCOUNTONIT VII. Perhaps he was a rebel or a revolutionary!

Others suggested that the quiet young man bore a resemblance to exiled old King HOPE-A-LOT. They thought he was the old king’s great-great grandson.

Legend had it that hundreds of years before King DONTCOUNTONIT VII, there was an invasion. Before that time the land of DONTBELIEVE was called the LAND OF MIRACLES. It was a place where wonderful things happened every day.

Then one morning the gloomy army of King DONTCOUNTONIT III from the neighboring country of DONTBELIEVE charged across the border. He swept across the sunny countryside and overcame sweet old King HOPE-A-LOT.

The invaders brought dark clouds of negativity and depression. For centuries, there wasn’t a glimmer of hope in all the land…until the day the quiet young man asked, “WHY NOT?”

Opinions about the young man flew thick and fast: “Well,” said one, “if he is the great-great-grandson of the old king, where are his royal robes?” “Quite true,” said another, “and where is his royal horse and servants?” “Of course,” said a third. “Where is his royal ring and scepter?”

So it was decided that he was not, in fact, a king at all. And that was sad.

Indeed, the young man was the true heir to the throne of the land. He was the great-great grandson of King HOPE-A-LOT. But the people of the land just kept sighing their customary sigh: “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it.”

Nearly 2,000 years ago a king came to the Jewish people. He didn’t wear royal robes; he didn’t ride a royal horse; he didn’t carry a royal scepter. He lived quietly among his people and came to them as a soft-spoken carpenter. So they didn’t believe he was their king.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God is more than the rightful king of Israel. He asks you to make him king of your life. He died so that we DONTBELIEVITS can have a new life. And he rose from the dead to dispel the clouds of doubt and fear so we can live in the sunlight of God’s love.

The Bible says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!