And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” –Genesis 3:11, NIV 2010 If there’s something I’ve been hearing a lot recently, it’s about…judgment! Many things are garnering a spice of juicio of God these days. People are killing each other, smiting each other, destroying each other. Natural disasters are ravaging the Earth. And what about lust, anger, treason, pride, disagreements that go beyond massacres, and many, many, many more. I never expected such vibrant colors. Happiness surrounding me. The sounds of festivities breathe into the pores of me. Take a bit, give a bit, don’t care. I just want to enjoy myself. Ugh, I realize now that that pesky stroke of midnight is coming in soon! I have three hours to do whatever I want. And these three hours I will treat like if they were the last hours of my life (because, really, they were going to be the last hours of my social life). But there’s a woman, “socially drunk”, someone I saw really sane earlier, and that surprised me. She was a successful woman, but I treated her so badly when she called to ask something at work! Oh, she was divorced, her kids hate her, her mom passed away, and now she’s drowning her sorrows in booze. Dang, was I so insensitive? If I was only more patient… Two hours, two hours, two hours! What next!?!? I keep walking the streets and see my friends, the revelers, reveling their way through the city, tearing up whatever they found along the way. But I saw a kid, a ten-year-old, cussing and slipping its way with what looked like a semi-Molotov cocktail. What the-who in the world… Oh, I did. I’m an arsonist, I like to explode things. But it ain’t that bad-I mean, a kid got hurt on New Year’s Eve, he lost his hand, but… Conscience, why are you doing this TO ME!?!? Am I THAT EVIL!? Now nobody can stop him, he’s giving me the evil eye! If I was a better role model… One hour, man, and I’m done! I’m so glad the party’s going to be over soon! That way I… *thud*…A Dios, isn’t that dude the same guy I saw at church yesterday? Man, can he sing! Man, did he raise that templo to the Heavens! man, did he…Wait, DID HE!?!? But he has a red paper cup, and oy, that scares me! He’s surrounded by many chick; what in the world is this, a hen party? I’ve so gotta call the…Wait a moment, he’s taking a pill…That means he’s got something. Wait up, those are his cousins, and his estranged daughter –he was divorced a while ago. And that’s his house… If only I were more supportive… Midnight. I walk those steps so glum into my apartment. I get my best suit ready to receive those ashes. I need that reminder, ash to ash, I’m gonna die soon. I hear those joyous sounds of revelers dancing in a move of celebration. For me, it’s just another time where I starve meself of what I love…But it’s time to realize that the party’s over. Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe…-Psalms 107:2, NIV 2011 Six times, man, six times already! And I’m so amazed every time! Clean. Redeemed. Bought by ransom. What do you think, huh? As children of God, we’re gathered here today to know of our rights…and our responsibilities. It’s taken me a lot to realize that I have a value, and even if the world can’t see it, God sees it. |
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