Once there was this very wealthy young man. He
lived in a great, elaborate house with dozens of rooms. Each room was more comfortable and
more beautiful than the one before it. There were paintings and sculptures, crystal
chandeliers, and golden, ornate railings on the stairs. More beauty than most have ever
seen.
One day he decided to invite the Lord to come and
stay with him. When the Lord arrived, this young man offered him the very best room in the
house. The room was upstairs and at the end of the hall. "This room is yours, Jesus!
Stay as long as you like and you can do whatever you want to in this room. Remember,
Jesus, its all yours."
"Thank you," the Lord replied, and with
that the man shuts the door and went about his daily business. That evening after he had
retired for the night there came a loud knocking at the front door. The young man pulled
on his robe and made his way downstairs. When he opened the door he found that the devil
had sent three of his demons to attack the man. He quickly tried to close the door but one
of the demons kept sticking his foot in the door.
Sometime later, after a great struggle, he managed
to slam the door shut and returned to his room totally exhausted. "Can you believe
that!?" the man thought. "Jesus is upstairs in my very best room sleeping while
I am down here battling demons." "Oh, well, maybe he just didn't hear."
The young man slept fitfully that night. The next
day things went along as normal and, being as tired as he was, the young man retired early
that evening. Along about midnight, there came such a terrible ruckus at the front door
that the young man was sure that whatever it was would tear the door down. He stumbled
down the stairs once again and opened the door to find that there were dozens of demons
now trying to get into his beautiful home. For more than three hours he fought and
struggled against the demons from hell and finally overtook them enough to shut the door
against their attack. All energy seemed to fail him. "I really don't understand this
at all. Why won't the Lord come to my rescue? Why does he allow me to fight all by myself?
I feel so alone."
Troubled he found his way to the sofa and fell into
a restless sleep. The next morning he decided to inquire of the Lord about the happenings
of the last two evenings. Quietly he made his way to the elegant bedroom where he had left
Jesus. "Jesus," he called as he tapped at the door. Lord, I don't understand
what is happening. For the last two nights I have had to fight the demons away from my
door while you laid up here sleeping. Don't you care about me? Did I not give you the very
best room in the house?" He could see the tears building in Jesus' eyes but continued
on, "I just don't understand. I really thought that once I invited you in to live
with me that you would take care of me and I gave you the best room in my house and
everything. What more can I do?"
"My precious child," Jesus spoke so
softly. "I do love and care for you. I protect all that you have released into my
care. But when you invited me to come here and stay, you brought me to this lovely room
and you shut the door to the rest of your house. I am Lord of this room but I am not
Master of this house. I have protected this room and no demon may enter here."
"Oh, Lord, please forgive me. Take all of my
house - it is yours. I am so sorry that I never offered you all to begin with. I want you
to have control of everything." With this he flung open the bedroom door and knelt at
Jesus' feet. "Please forgive me Lord for being so selfish." Jesus smiled and
told him that He had already forgiven him and that He would take care of things from now
on. That night as the young man prepared for bed he thought to himself, "I wonder if
those demons will return. I am so tired of fighting them each and every night." But
he knew that Jesus said that He would take care of things from now on. Along about
midnight the banging on the door was frightening. The young man slipped out of his room in
time to see Jesus going down the stairs. He watched in awe as Jesus swung open the door,
no need to be afraid. Satan stood at the door this time demanding to be let in.
"What do you want, Satan?" the Lord
asked. The devil bowed low in the presence of the Lord and said, "So sorry, I seem to
have gotten the wrong address." And with that, he and the demons all ran away.
There is a moral to this tale. Jesus wants all of
you, not just a part. He will take all that you give Him but nothing more. How much of
your heart have you given to the Lord? Are you keeping a portion of it away from Him?
Perhaps the attacks are coming more and more each day. Why not let the Lord fight the
battles for you? He is always victorious.
