My Attorney1
After living a "decent" life, my time on earth came to an end. The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what looked like a court house. The doors opened and I was instructed to come in and have a seat at the defense table. As I looked around I saw the prosecutor - a villainous looking man who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I had ever seen. I sat down and looked to my left, where, seated, was my lawyer - a kind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed familiar to me. The corner door flew open and the judge appeared, dressed in full flowing robes. He commanded an awesome presence as he moved across the room. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. As he took his seat behind the bench, he said, "Let us begin."
The prosecutor rose and began his opening statement, "My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this man belongs in hell." He began by describing the lies I had told, things I had stole, and how I had cheated others in the past. Satan told of other horrible perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke, the further down in my chair I sank. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look at anyone, even my own lawyer, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten. As upset as I was at Satan for revealing all those things about me, I was equally upset at my representative, who sat there silently - not offering any form of defense at all. I knew I was guilty of all those things, but I had done some good in my life - couldn't that at least cancel out part of the bad things I had done? Satan finished with a fury and closed by saying, "This man belongs to me in hell, since he is guilty of all these charges, and there is no person who can prove otherwise."
When it was his turn, my lawyer first asked if he might approach the bench. Satan yelled, "I object!," but the judge remarked, "Overruled," and beckoned my attorney to come forward. As he got up and started walking, I was able to see him in his full splendor and majesty. I realized why he seemed so familiar. My attorney was Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior. He stopped at the bench and softly said to the judge, "Hi Dad," and then he turned to address the court. "Satan was correct in saying that this man has sinned. I won't deny any of these allegations. And yes, the wages of sin is death, and this man deserves to be punished." Jesus took a deep breath and turned to his Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, "However, I died on the cross so that every person might have eternal life. Since this man has accepted me as his Savior, he is mine." My Lord continued, "His name is written in the book of life, and no one can snatch him from me. Satan still does not understand that this man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy." As Jesus sat down, he quietly paused, looked at his Father and replied, "There is nothing else that needs to be done. I've done it all."
The judge lifted his mighty hand, slammed the gavel down, and bellowed from his lips, "This man is free. The penalty for him has already been paid in full. Case dismissed!"
As my Lord led me away, I could hear Satan ranting and raving, "I won't give up, I'll win the next one." I asked Jesus as he gave me my instructions where to go next, "Have you ever lost a case?" Christ lovingly smiled and said, "Everyone that has come to me and asked me to represent them has received the same verdict as you, Paid in Full."
- This is a slightly edited version of a popular e-mail sent the summer of 2001. The author is unknown.
Reflections
We are what we think.
- 05/17/2013 02:27 AM
Quote of the Week: Michael Reeves
Richard [of St. Victor: d. 1173] argued that if God were just one person, he could not be intrinsically loving, since for all eternity (before creation) he would have had nobody to love. If there were two persons, he went … Continue reading
() - 05/14/2013 02:45 AM
The Genesis Creation Days and Christianity’s Two Books
Dr. T. David Gordon is one of my favorite biblical scholars and theologians. He serves as professor of religion and Greek at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. I was honored to have him as a special guest on two provocative … Continue reading
() - 05/10/2013 02:24 AM
Quote of the Week: C. S. Lewis
Christianity is almost the only one of the great religions which thoroughly approves of the body—which believes that matter is good, that God Himself once took on a human body, that some kind of body is going to be given … Continue reading
() - 05/07/2013 02:59 AM
RTB Super-Scholar Heroes in the Battle of Fallacies
News Flash—Glendora, CA, USA A climactic battle broke out today between two RTB super-scholar heroes—Fuz-Lightyear-Rana and Logic-Samples-Man! The dispute was over which super-scholar possesses the greater inherent powers of manipulative persuasion. Fuz-Lightyear-Rana launched a preemptive strike that seemed intoxicatingly convincing. … Continue reading
() - 05/03/2013 02:19 AM
Quote of the Week: Robert Letham
It is a mark of Christian maturity to be able to learn from those with whom we disagree on this or that. – Robert Letham, Through Western Eyes (Mentor: UK, 2007), 271.
() - 04/30/2013 02:23 AM
Psalm 104: A Poetic View of Creation
Here I present an article by my RTB colleagues, Krista Bontrager and Fazale Rana–excerpted from their latest booklet, Psalm 104: In Wisdom You Made Them All, available from reasons.org in May. **** While you may not have noticed the connection … Continue reading
() - 04/26/2013 02:41 AM
Quote of the Week: David K. Naugle
Using current psychological jargon to describe his [Augustine of Hippo] background, a prima facie reading of his Confessions reveals that he grew up in a dysfunctional family, suffered through a childhood of unhappiness, was prone to theft and dishonesty, abhorred … Continue reading
() - 04/23/2013 02:56 AM
Global Warming Guidelines in the Book of Job
Today I invite you to read this post by my colleague, astronomer and author Hugh Ross. **** Based on chapter 4 from my book Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job. Yesterday, in commemoration of Earth Day, Climate Central released … Continue reading
() - 04/19/2013 02:39 AM
Quote of the Week: C. S. Lewis
Nothing about us except our neediness is, in this life, permanent. — C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves (San Diego: Harcourt, Inc., 1960), 33.
() - 04/16/2013 02:22 AM
April Podcast Highlight
In addition to Reflections, I also discuss critical thinking, reason, logic, and current issues in light of the historic Christian worldview on my podcast, Straight Thinking, along with my Reasons to Believe (RTB) colleague Dave Rogstad and podcast host Joe … Continue reading
()
http://godandscience.org/doctrine/attorney.html
Last Modified December 24, 2005



