PAID a children's story

PAID by Niki Vella Power

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” There was a loud cry from the shed. It sounded like Uncle Ben and He sounded really upset.

Lilly and Michael looked at each other from over their card game. They had been playing Fish, while their uncle had been hard at work all day in the shed.

Lilly and Michael were twins and they lived with their uncle, who was an inventor.

The shed was Uncle Ben’s special and precious place where he made the most amazing inventions. There was a boat that would convert into a quad bike as well as a small submarine, and then there was a ray gun that could project an image into a room so that it looked like whatever was being projected was actually there for real. The most amazing invention, as far as the twins were concerned, was the time machine that Uncle Ben had given Lilly for her birthday.

Having a time machine meant that they could travel back in time to watch events, but they couldn’t change anything. It was kind of like being a fly on the wall, watching life go by, but not interfering with it.

“Should we go and see what’s happened with Uncle Ben?” ask Michael.

But just then the children heard the shed door slam and Uncle Ben came striding in with his face red and eyes sparkling with anger. The children were quite afraid. They had never seen Uncle Ben angry. Usually he was the one who stayed calm even when they were out in a storm and everything seemed to be going wrong. What could have gotten him so steamed up?

“Your Uncle Simon is coming to stay!” He announced to the two children while still glaring and obviously trying to calm himself down for their sake.

The twins jumped and laughed and then hugged Uncle Ben. “Oh Uncle Ben that is wonderful and so exciting,” said Lilly. Uncle Ben finally smiled as the joy of the children was really quite contagious and he was catching a little of their excitement himself.

Uncle Simon was the youngest of the three brothers. The Twins father was the eldest and then Uncle Ben, and then Uncle Simon. But most importantly, Uncle Simon was the fun uncle. He was the one who loved to play music loud and would play games with them when he visited. He wasn’t a secret agent like the twins father and he wasn’t an inventor like Uncle Ben. Uncle Simon played in a band that toured the country. He was always broke and needing a loan. It seemed that there were possibly other things Uncle Simon did that the adults didn’t tell the children about, but the children knew that Uncle Ben and their Dad thought Uncle Simon was TROUBLE with a capital T.

“But why are you so angry, Uncle Ben?” Michael inquired.

“Hmm… ,” said Uncle Ben, “Well I got such a fright when the phone rang that I dropped the soldering iron on knee, and broke the piece I was working on. As well as that, I just know that your Uncle usually only comes to visit when he has run out of places to go, and run out of money to spend.” As he said this he remembered that he had initially come over to the house to get ice for his burnt knee. He was so angry that he had almost forgotten how much it hurt, and now he remembered…. But he wasn’t angry anymore, just a little upset.

Lilly had grabbed the ice pack out of the freezer and wrapped a cloth around it for him. As he sat down with it he told them, “Uncle Simon expects to arrive tonight at around seven pm., which means that he should be in time for tea.”

This was met with a fresh round of enthusiasm and jumping with excitement from the twins.

Uncle Simon arrived looking way thinner than the twins had remembered and he was very tired. The twins were a little disappointed that he didn’t seem as interested in playing games with them as usual, but they figured that tomorrow would surely be a fun day.

The next morning the twins awoke with excitement and eager to spend time with Uncle Simon but he was nowhere to be found. When it was time for the children to catch the bus for school they still had not seen Uncle Simon, so they left for school somewhat disappointed.

The afternoon brought with it all that the twins had expected from their Uncle Simon. He greeted them off the bus and then showed them the new basketball that he’d bought for them…. And a basketball back board and hoop. Apparently he’d left early that morning to go into town and purchase everything.

The twins were so excited; this was what they loved about their Uncle Simon. He was fun! While Uncle Ben spent all his spare time in the shed the twins found that they were constantly entertained by Uncle Simon. It was a week of games and gifts and videos; Uncle Simon would make popcorn and watch movies with them like they were in a real picture theatre and he always seemed to know interesting things about the characters in the movie.

The weekend came around and Uncle Ben asked Michael to play his guitar for Uncle Simon, who was suitably impressed. Uncle Simon was leaving the next day and so the children were rather sad about that.

No one knew when Uncle Simon left, but once again Uncle Ben was in a bad mood…. And that was just so much not like Uncle Ben, but the children couldn’t blame him. Uncle Simon had taken Uncle Ben’s degravinator machine. It was one of Uncle Ben’s inventions but he didn’t own it. It belonged to one of the Secret Agents who worked with the children’s parents…. Uncle Simon must have known that it would be worth a lot of money, but the children weren’t sure if he realized that Uncle Ben would have to pay the Secret Agent back his money. In this case though, Uncle Ben had insured the degravinator and so the insurance claim would also cover any money that he lost on it, but nothing could replace the trust and good will that Uncle Ben and the children had lost in Uncle Simon and nothing could take away their disappointment.

The children were devastated to realize that their beloved uncle would steal from them. He always seemed to be giving things to them. He didn’t have to give them things; the children would have loved him anyway. They didn’t need any gifts and didn’t realize that he had a problem with being responsible with money. It seemed that their father and Uncle Ben were right about Uncle Simon after all. Uncle Simon was trouble…. Capital T – TROUBLE.

Uncle Ben tried to cheer the children up by showing them how to make hard lollies that explode in your mouth and turn into honey when you suck them. It was always lovely to be involved in the amazingly inventive life of Uncle Ben, but the children were still feeling rather sad.

Late that night the children were awakened by thunder and lightning. Uncle Ben brought them down into the lounge room with their pillows and blankets so they could all be together. The storm was pretty fierce and the lounge was a safe room in the middle of the house.

In the midst of the lightning strikes there was a knock at the door. The children and Uncle Ben all looked very surprised, but Uncle Ben got up quickly because no one should be out in that horrible storm.

There at the door, very wet and very frightened, and with a cut leg and a cut across his forehead, was Uncle Simon. Lilly quickly grabbed the first aid kit and Michael and Uncle Ben found some dry clothes and towel for Uncle Simon. Not much was said. Uncle Simon seemed sad and silent and the twins just didn’t know what to make of anything.

Finally Uncle Simon broke the silence. “I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve hurt you and I certainly don’t deserve to have you look after me.”

Uncle Ben spoke quietly, but it was clear he was still very angry. “That is right…. You don’t, and tomorrow you can leave.”

“I’ll pay you for the machine as soon as I can get enough money together.” Said Uncle Simon

“No need. It’s been paid already”, said Uncle Ben rather gruffly. “The insurance claim paid for it.”

The storm had died down so the twins headed back to their beds. In the morning breakfast was tense and uncomfortable. Lilly and Michael decided that they needed to do something so Michael told a joke… and then another and then another.
“What’s green and has wheels?” he asked. “Grass! I lied about the wheels.”
Lilly thought it was funny, but she noticed that the two uncles were still not very happy.
“Uncle Simon, have I shown you my birthday present from Uncle Ben?” asked Lilly. He shook his head and so she raced up to get it while Michael continued with the jokes.
“Why did the boy cross the road?” asked Michael “Because he was stapled to the chicken!”
“Lilly, come and save us from these crazy jokes”, pleaded Uncle Ben. He was starting to pick up on the children’s mood again. He really was a good natured man and couldn’t stay mad for very long.

“Well”, said Lilly, “I need us to all hold hands.” Without explaining to Uncle Simon about the time machine she set the date and pressed the button. She’d used the machine so often that she knew exactly what event she wanted and could set it exactly.

“Wooooo!” Uncle Simon let out a cry. Everything around him was spinning and he had no idea what was going on. Somewhere in the chaos of swirling colours he heard Lilly telling him that they were taking a trip in the time machine. “What?” He cried out again, “there’s no such thing as a time machine.” Lilly, Michael and Uncle Ben all laughed. It would seem that Uncle Simon had no idea just how clever his brother was.

Then the swirling cleared and the group found themselves standing halfway up a hill and a man was telling a story.

“Wow!” said Uncle Simon, “Look at all these people”.

On the hillside was quite a motley bunch of people. Some of them looked like they were quite important and some of them looked gruff and cranky. Others were just listening very intently to man telling the story.

Uncle Simon gasped, “Is that J… no it can’t be… Oh, but I think it is.. Is that Jesus?”

“You betcha” said Michael. “Now, quiet and listen”.

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he wasted his property and money with parties and reckless living.”
Uncle Simon spoke, “That’s me isn’t it, Lilly? That is why you wanted me to see this…”
He looked sad, but Lilly smiled and said, “just keep listening”.

Jesus continued with the story; “When he had spent everything, he began to be in need. So he went and got a job feeding the pigs. He was so hungry that he would gladly have filled himself with the food that the pigs were eating because no one gave him anything. Then he realized how good things were with his father and he said, “How many of my father’s workers have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’” So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his workers, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father is celebrating because he is back safe and sound.” Then he became angry and refused to go in. “

Now Uncle Ben interrupted, “uh-oh, now I know why Lilly wanted me here too Simon, I think that older brother might just be me.”
Once again Lilly just smiled and said, “just keep listening”..
Jesus continued, “His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me anything so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has wasted all your money you celebrate!” Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.”’

And just as Jesus said those words everything began to spin again as the time machine was taking them back to their own time.

As it spun everyone was very quiet and it was clear that both Uncle Ben and Uncle Simon were deep in thought.

Back in their own house, Uncle Ben broke the silence and said, “Simon, I’m sorry that I’ve been harsh with you.”

Uncle Simon sank into the kitchen chair and asked, “Is the father that Jesus was talking about… is that God? And do you think he will accept me even though I’ve done terrible things?”

“Are you sorry for those terrible things and do you realize that they truly were terrible?” Asked Uncle Ben

“Uncle Ben!” scolded Michael, “You know that God accepts us even though we do the wrong thing. You taught us that when I was skipping my school classes last year.”

Uncle Ben grinned, “Yes, Simon. God does accept us”

“But I need to pay for all that I’ve done, don’t I?” replied Uncle Simon

Lilly spoke up, “Actually, no you don’t. It might be a good idea if you have hurt someone to try to make it up to them, but you don’t have to pay for what you’ve done before God will love you and accept you.”

“But how can I know that God will accept me? What do I need to do?” asked Uncle Simon.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” said Michael and Lilly together. It was in the Bible and the both knew it by heart.

“Then I will…. Jesus is my Lord. I want him to be in charge of my life because I have stuffed it all up by doing what I wanted. And I do believe that he rose from the dead. Are you sure that is all I need to do?” Uncle Simon inquired again. “I still feel that I need to pay for what I’ve done”.
Uncle Ben smiled his lovely big smile and said, “It has been paid! Jesus paid for all our sins when he died on the cross; there is nothing else that we need to do. It is the same as the degravinator; It wouldn’t make sense to pay me for it because the debt has already been paid. In the same way, Jesus has paid for all our failures and so there is nothing keeping us apart from the love of God.”

“You know what, though?” interjected Michael, “I am reminded that we do really need to let Jesus be in control of our life. That is the only way to live an extra-ordinary life and that is what I want to do. It is very easy to say I want to do things my way, and I have to remember to ask Jesus what he wants me to do instead.”

“Oh yes,” agreed Lilly “and we all fail to do the very best at some times, but it is so great to know that God loves us and Jesus has already paid anything that we owe God.”

“Ah…” said Uncle Ben, “and because God loves, accepts and forgives us, we really should love, accept and forgive each other.”

Yep, yep, yep! And right there in the kitchen they all forgave, accepted and loved each other.

Reflection on readings for 17th Feb 2013 LENT 1

Year C First Sunday in Lent 17 February 2013
Deuteronomy 26: 1-11 Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16 Romans 10: 8b-13 Luke 4: 1-13

The concept of failure has come up a lot in my life this last couple of weeks. Perhaps it is no coincidence then to note that we begin this journey into Lent with the story of Jesus temptation in the desert. Unlike us, Jesus’ story is not one of failure, but of victory.

In the last week I’ve had conversations about failure, and I’ve said that it is vulnerability that leads to failure. In the past there have been responses made to circumstances that have been less than exemplary and the main thing that I have learnt from the experience was that when there is vulnerability in our life we are way more likely to make the same mistake over and over again. Very silly, but this seems to be the way it is.

Vulnerability in our spiritual journey is inevitable while we remain in this human body, but the more that we spend time and effort in our relationship with God, this less we should be vulnerable, as we see from the example of Jesus.

Although we begin the Lenten journey with the story of Jesus’ temptation in the desert, the readings for this week are all very much about the victory and provision of God. The first reading describes the gift that the Israelites were to make to God in thanks for his bringing them out of the wandering and persecuted past to a land flowing with milk and honey. Jesus was 40 days in the desert and the Israelites were 40 years in the desert.

Luke 4:1-2 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.”

Jesus had just had an amazing experience of being baptized and having God speak to him words of confirmation and assurance – “You are my beloved Son….” , and with this the Spirit of God led him out to the wilderness. Similarly, the Israelites had been rescued from Egypt through the Red Sea – a huge confirmation of God’s favour to the nation, and then they were in the wilderness….. and they were tempted and the fell to the temptation continuously and at every turn.

We would be incredibly foolish if we think for a second that we, in the same situation, would fare any differently from those Israelites – a stubborn and stiff necked people…. And so are we. In fact, our turning to God is like a Red sea miracle – we celebrate it with baptism… and then we find ourselves in very much in the wilderness….

Jesus was fully human and fully vulnerable. We read that he was famished and his first temptation is for food. We know that the Israelites in the desert cried out to God for food… actually they grumbled first and sinned. Jesus waits. Jesus knows that God had a purpose for his life and that he was not going to die there in the desert, so when he is tempted by the devil Jesus responds with scripture.

It is important to note that in the encounter with the devil in the desert, that both Jesus and the devil used scripture. Many times people might quote scripture to back their point of view, but scripture alone can be the work of the devil!

I feel I should leave some more space for thought about my last statement……

Our Psalm for this week is the scripture that the devil was quoting to Jesus:
Psalm 91:11-12 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”

This is a Psalm that promises the protection of God. Certainly Jesus had God’s provision and protection, but it certainly didn’t always seem that way, and when we look at his life and his crucifixion as an outsider, we could logically conclude that Jesus did not have God’s protection. But we know that Jesus did have God’s protection – the crucifixion was part of the plan.

To properly and fully understand and quote scripture correctly, we need to also have the spirit of God. Without the Holy Spirit we could very well be doing the devil’s work and abusing the word of God.

There were three things with which the devil tempted Jesus; food, authority over the kingdoms of the world and supernatural protection, but underlying these temptations was a condition. The first temptation was offered that IF he was the Son of God, then he should be able to make instant food. We know that later in Jesus ministry he did just that, but this temptation was based on the implication that Jesus needed to prove who he was. The devil indicated doubt about Jesus being the Son of God. Jesus answered with scripture, and stood firm in relying on the mercy of God the father, rather than demanding what God would give him.

Many a modern Christian might claim the promises of God and I wonder if they are giving in to the temptation of the devil rather than trusting in a calm knowledge that God’s will be done. We submit our cares to God, knowing that he cares for us – we demand nothing.

God does want good things for us. When we truly know God, we can be led by the Holy Spirit and accept the wilderness knowing that ultimately God will bring about blessing, maybe not in this lifetime, but for certain the blessing will come.

Many have noted that Jesus could stand against the temptation because he knew the scripture, but I have added to this that we need more than knowing the scripture. We need to know the scripture and we need the Holy Spirit and we need to know God…. Personally.

The other temptations that Jesus faced were to do with access to authority and supernatural power. As the Son of God these belonged to Jesus, but he was operating as fully human and not as God. Therefore he did what we are to do and that is to fully rely on God. (F.R.O.G.)

Every now and then it becomes obvious to me that the Occult is rearing its head. Once upon a time I had no idea what the Occult involved and thought it was simply extreme Satan worship – through personal experience I came to realize that it involved things as every day and seemingly (but NOT) harmless as reading your horoscope. I have some lovely and spiritual friends who dabble in things, and I’m not sure how to tell them that they are playing with fire, but here we see how simply we can be enticed. Things happen in our lives and we desire control over them…. What do we do?

We can use a little “religion” and, like the devil, we can quote the scripture and demand the promise of God for protection – an example might be the wearing of a religious medal for protection. Those dabbling more in the occult might wear a charm or a crystal, or a special scent. It seems harmless and it seems like we are invoking the protection of God…. But are we???????


Romans 10:9-10 “because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’”

Becoming a Christian is a simple thing, and it comes with reassurances, but it means that we have to acknowledge that we need a savior…. Because we do not have the control… we do not have the ability to save ourselves.

We need to “confess” our faith and “believe” in our hearts (with every fiber of our being). It is in our believing that we are justified, and with our confessing that we are saved. There is no other action which can demand a blessing from God- so any good deed to earn God’s favour is just not good enough. Our good deeds need to be out of a response to His goodness, not motivated by a sense of controlling the blessings of God – it doesn’t work that way.

We are saved by God’s grace and our lives are in his hands. The early apostles were incredibly exemplary in the actions of their lives and they were often martyred. What does this tell us? No action on our part will force God’s hand. But like Jesus we need to know – KNOW – the love of God, be led by his Holy Spirit and submit to the will of God. Scripture tells us that God cares for us and wants good things for us, but submitting our desires to God and waiting for his response shows our trust and faith in him.

This is the beginning of our Lenten journey. It is a call to give our whole lives completely into the hands of God. It is only in this way that we can truly please him and not be unwittingly doing the devil’s work.