Kellie did not look up, but she did listen, basking in the comforting voice of her sister.
“God’s only Son, Jesus, was wrongfully murdered right before His eyes. He knew it was going to happen before He even created this world, before He made you and me. He knew that we, even though He made us perfect and innocent, would sin, that we would choose to disobey God. He knew that He would have to provide a perfect Sacrifice to make a way for the people that He loved so much to be able to be united with Him again in the sweet communion He craved. He knew that man’s sin had to be punished in Hell’s eternal fire, and He knew the ONLY way of escape for His beloved creation was the death of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to Earth through a virgin birth, lived a sinless life, as only He can do because He is God, and offered Himself a sacrifice for sin. The men He created condemned Him to death, beat Him so badly you could no longer tell He was even a man, nailed Him to a rugged cross, and watched Him die as they gambled for His clothes. They hated Him so much, but, hanging up there on that cross, He still loved them… loved us. He even prayed that God, His Father, would forgive them for the awful thing they were doing. He will too, if we accept the gift He offers us of salvation. He came back to life three days later, Kellie. He could. He is God. Now He is standing at His Father’s side watching you every day. He is hoping right now that you will choose to believe on Him, that you will choose life. Kellie, please. This is so important.”
Kellie did look up now. She could hear the earnest pleading in her sister’s voice. There were tears in her eyes. She really did care for her like she said. She really did believe it was as important as she said.
“But it’s so scary… How can you choose to give everything up for something that you’re not even sure is true?” Before she even said it, Kellie knew she had made a mistake. Grace did believe it, with all of her being. She could see it in her eyes, in her face. She almost had a glow about her. But… how could she be so sure?
“I do know, Kells. But even if I didn’t, I would much rather believe now than take a chance later and find myself in Hell. And as to how I can be willing to give up everything for Him… with all that He did for me, how can I offer Him anything less than my all?”
Kellie still had a lot of uncertainty within her. Everything she knew and every ounce of common sense screamed at her to run away. She knew what happened to defectors, to Fanatics. She had seen it first-hand. Her Grandpa Bob had brought hunting parties to their home more than once to refuel and go again. She had begged to be part of it, to be out there in the action, but he always said someone needed to stay home and keep the home fires burning. She had longed to be out there helping to murder innocent people simply because they believed in God. She had even turned someone in once. But what if it was true? Would so many people willingly give their lives for something that was false? She had never really thought about it before, but it did not seem possible. These people whole-heartedly believed what they preached. But if it were true, would God even accept her? How could anyone, especially God, love her? She had done such terrible things. How could He ever forgive her?
“Does He forgive everyone?” Kellie was stunned to hear herself asking. “Does He save everyone from this… Hell?”
“Yes,” Grace breathed in a sigh of joyous relief. She knew in her heart of hearts that Kellie was about to receive the gift of life. “Yes. He will receive anyone. You can never be too bad for God to forgive. The price He paid on the cross was sufficient to pay for the sin of even the most vile and wicked person who ever lived. All you have to do is ask.” Grace held her breath as she waited for her sister’s response. It seemed like forever.
Kellie looked up at her through her tears. She had to do it. She had to. She felt a shoving, a tugging, at her heart. She could almost see Jesus just as Grace described Him hanging on the cross. She could hear Him say, “Father, forgive them.” She knew she was included. She shook her head yes, slowly at first, then quicker and with more force. If these people could live in exile, running for their lives, and still want what it was that Jesus offered, she wanted it too. She had seen the joy and peace that filled these people. She saw the happiness. She did not understand it, but she wanted it. “Yes. Tell me how.”
Grace started crying then. She was so happy. She shook her head right along with her sisters. Yes, she wanted Jesus! “Kellie, have you ever done anything wrong?”
A look of astonishment came across Kellie’s face. If she only knew… She shook her head in affirmation.
“Good, because God can only save you if you are a sinner to begin with.” Grace smiled so big Kellie thought her face might disappear. She wished she would get on with it. She did not want to wait a moment longer. She was scared the ground would open up and she would fall into Hell right now if she did not hurry. She had to hurry! “You do know that the penalty for sin is Hell.”
“Yes.”
“Jesus died on the cross to pay for that sin. He died so you don’t have to go to Hell.”
“I know.”
Grace loved to see a sinner at the edge of salvation. The determination and conviction on their faces alone was enough to give her energy to last a month of Sundays without food or water. She could always tell when they were close. That this particular sinner was her own sister, the sister she had prayed for so many times, was almost too much to bear. “Jesus said, ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’ If you believe that Jesus, God’s Son, was born of a virgin, died and rose again three days later to pay for your sin, just tell Him.”
Kellie’s head shot up to look into Grace’s eyes. “Tell Him?” The perplexed look in her eyes was enough of a question without the actual words to accompany it.
“Talk to God in prayer, just like you are talking to me right now.”
Kellie looked hard and deep into Grace’s eyes. Talk to Him like they were talking now? That sounded easy enough. “God,” she began. She did not know what to say, so she just poured out her heart. “I’m really sorry I caused Your death on the cross because of all the bad things I do.” She paused to sigh deep. “You knew I was going to sin before You made me, yet You did it anyway, You love me in spite of it. I’ll never understand it all even though I want to. I believe You died for me so I won’t go to Hell, and I am telling You that now. Please save me from Hell.” Kellie looked up in relief. She felt so much lighter, like a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Somehow, she felt at peace. It was real… no doubt about it. It was real! Throwing herself into her sister’s embrace, they cried on each other’s shoulders. God was so good.
* * * *
“Oh! I almost forgot what I came down to ask you,” Grace said a few minutes later. “I’m on my way upstairs to check on an officer that found his way here the other day, and I thought you might like to tag along.”
Kellie shot straight to attention, “An officer! A police officer? Was he wearing his uniform? Was he shot? What’s his name?”
Kellie talked so fast Grace had a hard time sifting through her words, but finally realization hit her. Jon had been shot at a town meeting. “Is Jon an officer?”
“Yes, yes. Is that the man’s name? Is it Jon?” Kellie did not wait for an answer. She excitedly bolted in the front door and up the stairs. Somewhere up there was her baby brother! She had no idea which room to look in first, and thankfully Grace was right there beside her, pointing her in the right direction.
Grace opened the door containing the mystery guest and stood aside so Kellie could enter. She almost knocked her over in an attempt to hurry inside to see her brother… only he was not there. Grace saw the hope drain out of Kellie’s face. She saw the expectation vanish, but the hurt did not return. Jesus had taken that away.
“Where is he?” she asked.
Walking over to the des
k in the corner, Grace investigated what she thought to be a hand written note and found it to be so. She read Jon’s letter, first to herself, then out loud. “It was Jon!” she said excitedly. “It was our brother! He never told us his name, but look, he signed the note, right here. It says ‘Jonathon Zoner!’”
Kellie continued to stare at the floor. “But where is he now? He’s out there all alone… hurt.”
“We’ll find him Kellie,” Grace said rushing to embrace her sister. “We’ll find him.”
Chapter 9
Jon had been traveling for what seemed like hours. After days… he did not know how many days he was there… of eating so well, his stomach demanded food every few hours. And… he had been hungry now for about two hours. He was beginning to feel faint. He slowly lowered himself onto a fallen log. He told himself that he was still as strong as he used to be, that he could go on for days without eating. He told himself he was sitting down simply to assess his situation. After all, he had to make sure he was heading the right way. He should have brought food, but he could not exactly just ask for it, “Excuse me, I’m sneaking out of here tomorrow morning. Could you bring me some extra sandwiches? And, wrap them if you could.” Jon chuckled at his own joke, but quickly caught himself as the sudden movement made him wince in pain.
Jon felt badly about leaving the way he did. He wished that he could have given them something in return for their generosity, but what did they need that he could give? Other than the need of salvation, these people seemed to have everything covered, and he had left them a letter explaining that in detail. Had he told them thank you? He could not remember. Surely he did. He tried to remember what he had written. Had he explained everything right? What if he did not remember to tell them everything they needed to know to go to Heaven? What if he forgot something? What if these people went to Hell because he forgot an important detail? It would be all his fault! He could not clearly remember what he had written. He had been so uncomfortable. His back was still hurting so badly.
As he was thinking over the letter, his “nurse’s” face quickly took over his thoughts. She had been beautiful. Why was she so familiar? He wished he could remember. Did he know her from somewhere? Then he remembered… he remembered being on patrol, walking around a corner, and finding an older man and a girl, no, a young woman there. That was the night he got saved. It had been so dark, and they had stood in the shadows, but he was pretty sure… It had to be. He remembered her build, her long hair, and her voice. That voice could not be forgotten! The young woman and his “nurse” were one in the same! He did not know if the old man was there or not. He had not seen anyone else during his stay at that house. But, yes! She was definitely the same girl. That meant… she was a Fanatic too! That meant… she would accept him! Did she feel the strange connection too?
No. He could not think like this. He had to tell his sister and Grandpa Bob about Jesus, and he knew what that meant… imprisonment and execution. Rising slowly from his seat, he checked the location of the sun in the sky and started once again on his journey. He would not have gotten as far as he had if it had not been for the abandoned walking stick he had found near the edge of the woods. It was simply a rough stick with a smooth rounded top, but it was sturdy for leaning on, and for that he was thankful. He had to keep moving despite the pain that movement caused. He had to get to his family before it was too late. That was the last thing he remembered before collapsing on the wet ground from the pain and slipping off into oblivion.
Chapter 10
“Over here, Sir”, shouted the tired officer. They had been hunting for Jonathon Zoner for almost three days now. Police Chief Bob Parker was relentless. He told everyone to keep searching. “He could not have gotten far,” he said, “He’s shot for goodness sake. How far could’ve you gotten like that?” He tried hard to keep everyone’s morale high by offering rewards as they broadened their search for the escaped “Fanatic”. Many wondered if it was worth it. “Besides”, they murmured, “we could’ve captured three or four families of Fanatics in the time we’ve spent searching for Jon alone!” Everyone was tired and getting into a bad mood. They were all ready to go home, but someone finally found something.
“Over here,” he repeated excitedly. “I’ve got something!”
Everyone stared in disbelief as Bob Parker ambled over to the man. “What did you find, Son?” he asked in his matter of fact tone.
“Right here, Sir,” he said, “It’s a piece of a gray uniform!”
“Great job. Keep up the good work.” With that, the Police Chief turned and walked away.
Was that all he was going to say? …After all the hard work …all the excitement? Did he not see what this meant? They were finally on his trail!
“Listen up, everyone,” it was the Police Chief speaking. “We have found a clue to his trail at long last. We have found a piece of torn uniform. There are no footprints in the vicinity of the fabric. I know it rained a few days ago, but there should be some slight impressions close by. I want everyone to be careful where you step. Look for brown blood spots, footprints, more fabric, anything that will give any clue to the direction he took. Let’s get going, and good luck.”
With that, everyone looked to their left and right to be sure they were still in a straight-line formation that was suitable for sweeping the terrain and continued on in their slow pace. Everyone’s spirits had suddenly lifted. They were on the right track. They were finally headed the right direction.
It was not long before someone came across something else of interest, a dropped police issued firearm. Another officer found a footprint. They were getting closer! They would find him soon; of that there was no doubt.
Chapter 11
“Rock of Ages, Cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee”, the congregation finished the familiar song and were seated. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits tonight. They all sang loudly and boldly.
Pastor Jack Sanders took his place behind his pulpit to begin the Wednesday night Bible Study. Looking down at his notes, he looked back out at the congregation. Tonight was going to start kind of different. He was not sure how it was going to be received. None of that mattered. He had to preach what God laid on his heart. He was planning on preaching on the Blessed Hope of the Christian, the Rapture. That would be no problem, but the way he was going to present it might cause some hard feelings. Here it goes…
“I was thumbing through a book the other day when I came across an interesting story of antiquity. It tells of a band of soldiers, known as the “Emperor’s Wrestlers”, who served the Roman Emperor Nero:
“Fine, stalwart men they were, picked from the best and the bravest of the land, recruited from the great athletes of the Roman amphitheater.
“In the great amphitheater they upheld the arms of the emperor against all challengers. Before each contest they stood before the emperor’s throne. Then through the courts of Rome rang the cry: ‘We, the wrestlers, wrestling for thee, O Emperor, to win for thee the victory and from thee, the victor’s crown.’
“When the great Roman army was sent to fight in far-away Gaul, no soldiers were braver or more loyal than this band of wrestlers led by their centurion, Vespasian. But news had reached Nero that many Roman soldiers had accepted the Christian faith. Therefore, this decree was dispatched to the centurion Vespasian: ‘If there be any among your soldiers who cling to the faith of the Christian, they must die!’
“The decree was received in the dead of winter. The soldiers were camped on the shore of a frozen inland lake. It was with sinking heart that Vespasian, the centurion, read the emperor’s message.
“Vespasian called the soldiers together and asked the question: ‘Are there any among you who cling to the faith of the Christian? If so, let him step forward!’ Forty wrestlers instantly stepped forward two paces, respectfully saluted, and stood at attention. Vespasian paused. He had not expected so many, nor such select ones. ‘Until sundown I shall await your answer,’ said Vespasian. Su
ndown came. Again the question was asked. Again forty wrestlers stepped forward.
“Vespasian pleaded with them long and earnestly without prevailing upon a single man to deny his Lord. Finally he said, ‘The decree of the emperor must be obeyed, but I am not willing that your comrades should shed your blood. I am going to order that you march out upon the lake of ice, and I shall leave you to the mercy of the elements.’
“The forty wrestlers were stripped and then, falling into columns of four, marched toward the center of the lake of ice. As they marched they broke into the chant of the arena: ‘Forty wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory and from Thee, the victor’s crown!’ Through the long hours of the night Vespasian stood by his campfire and watched. As he waited through the long night, there came to him fainter and fainter the wrestlers’ song.
“As morning drew near one figure, overcome by exposure, crept quietly toward the fire; in the extremity of his suffering, he had renounced his Lord. Faintly but clearly from the darkness came this song: “Thirty-nine wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory and from Thee, the victor’s crown!’
“Vespasian looked at the figure drawing close to the fire. Perhaps he saw eternal light shining there toward the center of the lake. Who can say? But off came his helmet and clothing, and he sprang upon the ice, crying, ‘Forty wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O Christ, to win for Thee the victory and from Thee, the victor’s crown!’ ”
He paused and peered at the congregation. So far… so good. He had everyone’s attention. He continued. “We had a Vespasian here among us not too long ago. In fact, he just left sometime today. You may know whom I am talking about: a tall, skinny fellow wearing a police uniform. This young man, whom we now know as Jonathon Zoner, used to be a police officer, fighting on the side of the law to track down Fanatics and capture them for the sake of imprisonment and execution. When he stumbled upon our Haven of Rest, he must have been running from that same law. He must have been, for both the bullet in his back and the letter he left for Grace when he departed declare this to be so. To the shame of everyone here, no one witnessed to this man. No one cared for his soul. No one told him of Christ, yet in his letter, he witnessed to us. He told us of a saving Jesus. He told us of the death of God’s Son, His resurrection, and His power to save if we will only believe.