The Disappearance of a Pied Piper

Salvation's Testimony

Groggy faces started waking up all over the auditorium. Stretching arms reached to the skies. Mouths spread wide to emit yawns of every sort as other members of the community, and their police escorts began to make their way into the church, asking questions like, "What's for breakfast, today?"

Chief Bud Best welcomed them all with a broad smile as he motioned for the newcomers to take their places in the auditorium. "Ma and Pa Freshly are cooking scrambled eggs for the whole lot of us, along with monster meat carved into bacon strips. About fifteen minutes is all the time you'll need to wait to fill your tummies. It kind of reminds me of my college days when we had 'mystery meat and pink gravy' for breakfast. At least there is no mystery about where our meat came from."

"Could we have at least a cup of coffee?" Grady asked as the group nodded in agreement.

"I think that's a possibility, Grady," Bud said. Turning to the officers, he asked, "Gentlemen, would you go ask the Freshlys, if coffee has been brewed, and then offer to fill some paper cups, and bring them to our guests?"

"Of course," Jerome answered, and the three followed him into the kitchen. About three minutes later eight cups of coffee were on their way to waiting hands.

"Thanks, Men," Bud said. "You're doing a great job." Bud stepped into the pulpit, and said, "Last night I got the best news of my life, and I'd like to tell you in the way, that the preacher may have taught our children before they were snatched away. I'm going to talk from this platform because I have a message I'd like to share with you all."

Grady and Pace stood up. "What's this all about, Chief?" they asked. "Are you about to get religious on us?"

"It might seem that way at first, but hear me out," Bud said. "As long as you've known me, have I ever been anything other than an atheist?"

Heads shook, "No," all over the auditorium.

"Then, would you expect me to be untruthful in that department, right now?" he asked.

Again, heads shook, "No," all over the auditorium.

"Have I ever been unjust to anyone in the town of Fairly Same?" Bud asked.

Same response.

"Then, let me tell you something, that totally shocked me," Bud leaned in. "Last night, during our officers' briefing Jerome and Rich brought me up-to-date, regarding their findings, while reading The Bible."

"You had them read The Bible," Lem asked. "With all due respect, Chief, are you insane?"

"Good question, Lem," Bud answered. "Let me ask you a question. Can you explain these hybrid creatures, scorpions, the tidal wave, and the overabundance of flies, fleas, wasps, and gnawing worms, we've had to endure over the past few days? When have you seen the amount of meteors, that have affected our group? Liam, would you like to take it from here?"

"I can't see out of my right eye because I don't have a right eye," Liam frowned. "Do you have something, that tells us 'Why,' Chief?"

"I do as a matter of fact, Liam," Bud said, "but it required us to read The Bible because there are some prophetic passages, that describe events, like the ones we've been experiencing," Bud smiled. The men came in with another round of coffee cups, right about then. Bud turned to Jerome, and said, “Sorry, Jerome. I took over your briefing, but I will include you in mine. I just got so excited, that I couldn’t help myself.”

“It’s alright, Chief,” Jerome said, “You’re on a roll. Go for it.”

"Jerome, would you like to tell the folks what you found in Revelation 6:13," Bud asked.

"Sure, Chief," Jerome said, "I found the expression, 'And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth' to refer to the meteors we've been experiencing recently.' On top of that Revelation 8:8, apparently scared the Chief to death because when we woke up this morning, I found out, that the Chief was no longer an atheist."

"You've got to be kidding me, Bud," Grady said. "Tell me something, that will keep me from walking out right now, taking my friends with me."

"Yeah," Pace agreed.

"Here me out, Grady, and you, too, Pace," Bud said. "That Bible verse says something we're all going to have to deal with probably sooner, rather than later."

"What in the name of common sense is that?" Grady grumbled.

"According to Revelation 8:8 in the KJV," Bud said,"And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; Liam, if a little sliver of a meteor destroyed your right eye, then what will be meteor do, that is the size of a mountain, that kills all the sea creatures within the strike zone?"

Grady and Pace sat back down. "Alright, you have our attention," they said. "What are we able to do about this?"

Bud said, "Grady, I have wracked my brain all night, trying to envision a safety tower 50 feet high, but we don't have the tools to build it, and even if we did, we could only save about 10 out of 37 souls in our little community. The fact remains, that as much as I hate to admit it, we're all going to die on some day, and at some time. I can't prevent every possible environmental cause of death, but I can tell you what I now know about God, that could make your ultimate salvation be on the other side of death."

"Good flippin' grief!" Pace hid his head in two facepalms.

"Wait a second, Pace," Grady said. "maybe the Chief has a point."

"Not you, too, Grady," Pace turned livid. "I hate you, Bud. You're turning my friend against me."

"Not really, Pace," Bud said. "Do you have any other logical answers as to how we can fix this situation, without giving God a chance to change us from the inside out?"

"Oh, God," Pace turned his back and sat on the arm of one of the benches.

Bud finally realized the most important thing. "Let's table this matter for the moment, and let me tell you what I learned about the other day when Cynthia and I had a heart-to-heart. You still trust Cynthia, don't you, Grady and Pace? Everybody else?"

They all shook their heads in the affirmative.

"Cyni, will you join me on the platform?" Bud asked.

In about 30 seconds, she was standing near her husband, ready to affirm everything he said.

"What was that Bible verse you memorized when you were a little girl?" Bud asked her.

"John 3:16 in the King James Version," she smiled.

"Would you please repeat that verse to our little community right now?" Bud asked.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," she sweetly repeated the verse, and looked up to Bud.

"You are such a precious lady, Cyni," he said.

"Sounds pretty," Grady said, "But what does it mean?"

"Grady, it means, that God loved all of us before we could love Him," Cynthia said. "He gave His only begotten Son to the world as HIStory's Greatest Gift in order that His Son would die on the cross, be buried in a borrowed tomb, rising on the third day, that He could purchase and create the Bride of Christ in order for The Father to give His Son the everlasting Gift of His Bride."

Pace turned back around to ask Cynthia, "If I can't save myself, then how can I know when I have been saved?"

"Good question, Pace," Cynthia said. "Bud and I have been thoroughly discussing some concepts in the past 24 hours. Do you like flowers, Pace?"

"Yeah, but what's that got to do with God, and getting right with Him," Pace asked.

"John Calvin was a churchman many years ago," she said. "He lived in the 1600s as I recall. His systematic theology was housed in the acrostic, T.U.L.I.P. In some ways, it's like the way law enforcement makes a case against a criminal. The more evidence that is stacked up in a case against a lawbreaker, the more 'open & shut' the case will be."

"Alright, you've got my interest," Pace said. "I'll bite, but you've got to tell me. Does the evidence work both ways? I can go to jail or prison if I'm found guilty, but if I'm found innocent, am I truly acquitted?"

"You are, indeed, Pace," she smiled.

"What is this TULIP you're talking about, Cynthia?" Myrtle asked, being just as curious.

"Let me share the meanings of the letters, and then we'll review them at a slower pace," Cynthia said. "Actually, I'm going to stop talking for a few minutes to rest my vocal cords. Bud, you take it from here. As the old saying goes, 'To teach is to learn twice.'"

"Everyone, Cynthia is a great teacher, especially regarding spiritual matters," Bud said. I'm more than happy to share with you what I am still learning. T.U.L.I.P. stands for Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and the Perseverance of the saints."

"I know now about as much as I did when I was deployed to Italy, ordering off an Italian menu," Grady said.

"Give me a minute, Grady," Bud said. "I've got more to explain. How many people in this auditorium were baptized when you were a child?"

About 2/3 of the hands went up.

"Did that save you? Was there a change in your heart, that has lasted, until today?" Bud asked. "If you were baptized as a child, and still became an atheist, what does that say of the salvation, that the earliest leaders of your life brought to you?"

"To me, it proved, that God was no more than some cosmic Santa Claus," Pace spit back.

"Yet, what does the belief system of atheism (or lack thereof,) bring to you to help you live your life?"

"I've been surviving all these years because God isn't real, and there is nothing more for my life than eating, drinking, sleeping, and having a good time."

"How old are you, Pace?" Bud asked.

"I'm 45 if you must know," Pace was turning belligerent. "I'll never live half the goals, I set for myself when I was twenty. At present, I'm about halfway to death, all things being equal. If I live to be 100, I'm starting to wonder how much I will comprehend when I'm that age. When I die, all I've got to look forward to is being worm food, and I'll never know, that I ever lived because I'll be a dead body with no consciousness."

"Would you be interested in learning about a life, that is not totally fatalistic?" Bud asked.

"Sure. What cha got?" Pace resigned himself.

"The God we've hated all our lives really does exist," Bud said, "And if you are one of His Chosen ones, then life lasts beyond this life."

"If 'I'm a chosen one,'" Pace answered. I don't like the sound of that, Bud."

"That's a good amount of honesty, Pace. The Lord's honest, too." Bud said.

Bud walked around in front of the pulpit.

"You may find, that The Lord is in charge of His Home much like you are with yours," Bud said. "Do you have locks on your doors at home?"

"You know I do, Bud," Pace said. "Most everybody in this town has locks on our doors. Or at least we did until that rogue wave destroyed our homes."

"Does that mean you get to choose, who is allowed to visit your home, Pace?" Bud asked. "Or do you allow everyone to just walk in they take a shine to do so?"

"I care about my wife," Pace said. "I keep strangers out."

"God cares about His Son's wife," Bud said. "He keeps everyone out, who is not chosen to come in. You wouldn't let law-breakers into your home. God doesn't let law-breakers into His Home, either."

"Who keeps God's Laws," Pace asked.

"Nobody," Bud said, "That means, that nobody is on God's Guest List, (The Lamb's Book of Life,) unless The Lord wrote it there from the Foundation of the World. The first letter of TULIP is T for Total Depravity."

"I'm not so bad," Pace bowed up.

"But you're not perfect, like God is perfect," Bud assured him. "Total Depravity refers to spiritual life. Every human is born dead, spiritually. Only God can make him or her alive in heart based on the merits of Jesus Christ, His One and Only One Son. No human can make themselves alive spiritually. Totally Depraved is totally without spiritual ability."

"How can I be saved, then?" Pace asked.

"With man it's impossible, but with God everything is possible." (Philippians 4:13)