By Guy K. Henry

www.guyhenry.com

Click on the speaker, and I'll read you the story!

 

I hadn’t expected it to be a big deal. My crimes hadn’t seemed so terrible. Yet, there I was in a solitary prison cell, waiting.

I was sitting on my bed, looking out at the sky through the small window when I heard a whispered, “Hey!”

I wasn’t sure how to answer the faceless voice.

“Hey! Are you there?”

“Yeah,” I answered, “I’m here.”

“Whatcha in for?” my neighbor asked.

I thought for a moment and quickly reflected to my indictment. “I’ve been accused of over 61,000 counts of defying the creator of the entire universe.”

“Yeah, me too,” he sighed. “I could get the death penalty if they find me guilty.”

“I could get that too,” I answered, a little surprised that I wasn’t the only one in this situation.

With that a hand stretched around the corner of my cell. “Vick’s the name.”

I shook the hand of my new friend. “Good to meet you Vick,” I said in a voice that was far too cheerful for such a gloomy jail.

“Right,” Vick said amused.

Later that night Vick woke me up. “Psst…”

It had taken me a long while to fall asleep, and so I was a little annoyed to hear his voice now.

Vick didn’t care. “What are you going to use as a defense?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” I started to answer, “you see, I am guilty of every count the prosecutor listed”

“Of course you are,” Vick said smoothly, “but you can’t say that to the judge. You’ll be convicted for sure if you do!”

Vick Continued, “I’m going to find a loophole. There must be a clever way out of here.”

“Well, good luck Vick,” I said sleepily. Then I added, “You know, we’ve seriously offended the one who holds all the power in the universe, and you think you’ll be let free on a technicality?”

“Whoa!” said Vick in a daytime voice. “It is not that big a deal! Besides, I am a pretty good guy.”

“NO TALKING!” yelled the guard from the other end of the cell block. That ended our conversation for the night.

I awoke a short time later to the sound of my breakfast tray sliding under the bars. I was ravenously consuming my bowl of gruel when I heard, “Hey, you there?”

I wiped off my mouth and said, “Yeah.” Then I quipped, “Where else would I be?”

“That’s not funny,” Vick urgently said. “If I ever call out to you, and you don’t answer, I’ll know that it’s ‘Judgment Day’.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said.

“Were you serious about that offending the creator stuff?” Vick asked.

“I realized as the prosecutor listed charge after charge how it became habit to choose my way over the creator’s.”

“Aw, come on,” Vick chuckled. “It’s just a little mischief, nothing to get so worked up about.”

“You should have seen the judge,” I said. “He flinched as each count was read, and he often had to wipe tears from his eyes.”

“Yeah, right,” scoffed Vick.

I was convinced that my transgressions were something beyond trivial to that judge.

The day passed slowly. I grew tired of hearing Vick’s schemes to beat the charges. He told me how he hoped that the judge’s goodness would prevent him from sentencing him to death. Later he planned to see if the judge would just forget about his ‘little indiscretions’, and let him go based on his occasional goodness.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to say. I was, however, quite sure that I wasn’t going to use Vick’s approach. I knew I was wrong. I deserved my prison cell. Ultimately, I did deserve the death penalty.

The next morning while I was eating my gruel and half listening to Vick there was a commotion in the cell block. For quite some time it sounded like a crazy man’s voice was echoing off the walls. I could not make out what he was saying.

Vick piped up. “That gives me an idea. Perhaps I’ll try an insanity defense!” He started practicing, “Honestly judge, I didn’t know what I was doing!”

“Whatever,” I huffed.

The maniacal voice sounded closer. I strained to see what was going on, but couldn’t.

After a while I could tell that the crazy sounding man was standing in front of Vick’s cell. I couldn’t see him, but I saw a crowd of guards who must have been accompanying him.

He said, “I have come to save you from eternal death. Won’t you let me rescue you?”

Vick started laughing harder than I’d heard him so far. Between howls he said, “Hey, Mr. Crazy Man, you sure look like you could use some saving yourself!”

Then Vick turned angry, “Get out of here, I’ve got my own problems to take care of!”

With that the crazy man and his company moved down the row of cells. The man stood in front of my cell. Suddenly he thrust his hands through the bars and said, “I want to save you from an eternal death!” He got louder, “Allow me to save you!”

I looked into his eyes, and started to believe him.

“Send that lunatic packing!” Vick yelled still laughing.

“No, Vick,” I said. Then I fell to the floor at the man’s feet and cried, “Yes! Save me!!!”

He smiled at me and said, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Vick didn’t have much to say to me after that. The common bond we had when we met was gone now.

It was just about dark that evening when there was another disturbance in the jail.

I heard Vick shouting, “NO! NO! NO!” as his cell door was opened.

This was the first time I had actually seen more than just Vick’s hand. He loudly protested each step as he was dragged away.

No one used the phrase ‘Judgment Day’, but I figured it out for myself. Today was that day.

After what seemed like hours, though it could have been days, the guards appeared and stood in front of my cell. I immediately thought of the last person who had stood in that spot, and my heart found some peace.

They didn’t have to drag me away. I went willingly, though I was very afraid. They led me down a long corridor that emptied into a great and bright room. I walked along the wall of the room. I came to a window, and peered out it. To my horror, I saw Vick. It wasn’t the laughing, mocking Vick I had come to know. In the distance he was hanging from what looked like a wooden cross.

I stood, unable to move, yet unable to turn away. I am not sure how long I stared at Vick’s tormented but lifeless body. I worried that soon I’d be taking a place out there with him.

A loud voice behind me called my name. I spun around to see the great judge studying me. “And what have you to say in your defense to these charges?” he solemnly asked.

 “I can offer nothing to defend myself. I am horribly guilty.” I meekly muttered.

The judge gestured to a group of guards who brought a large wooden cross into the room. They dumped it at my feet. One of the guards emptied a bag of iron spikes onto the ground. My whole self was trembling with fear.

One of the guards signaled for me to lie down. My knees were about to fold anyway, so I easily started to lower myself to the ground where the cross waited for me.

A hand firmly took hold of my shoulder. I assumed that I was taking too long, and was about to be shoved to the ground. Instead the hand lifted me up. I was still stunned when I felt a man whisk past me. It was the man who had stood in front of my cell door earlier. Back then he had asked me if I’d allow him to save me. Was this what he meant?

The man quietly laid himself down on MY cross. He silently allowed the guards to drive MY spikes into HIS wrists and ankles.

I turned and looked out the window to watch as the guards carried him outside. They sank MY cross into the ground. There he paid MY death penalty with HIS life.

I was both glad and sad. I was glad that I had experienced total forgiveness for all my guilt through the man who saves. I was sad that Vick had not called out to him. I was even sadder that this amazing man was out there hanging…. Hold on! My cross is empty! Where is he? Where did he go?

“Do you mean me?”

I turned around to see my rescuer very much alive. “But how…” I tried to ask.

“How am I standing here alive and breathing?” he helped me.

I nodded my head up and down.

“I have defeated death,” he said. “Death no longer has the power to keep me still and silent!”

Just then great doors opened and a brighter light poured into the room. The wonderful man took me by the hand and led me into my indescribable new home.