Chapter 4

Nait had been through enough. He didn’t know how much more of it he could take. He was, again, alone in the jury section of the court.

“Why am I still here?” Nait asked.

There was no reply to Nait’s question. He saw a new defendant sitting in the presence of The Light.

“Is he smiling?” Nait said to himself.

The new person on trial had a confident grin.

Someone was sitting in the witness chair, but the chair was facing opposite of the defendant.

“You are so marvelous, God,” the defendant said. “I could have never imagined Your splendor and majesty.”

“Luke,” The Light said, “why do you say such things?”

“How could I not?” Luke replied. “Your brilliance and light are profound.”

“What did you do with my Gospel?” The Light asked.

“I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,” Luke said.

“Did you share the message of the Gospel with other?” The Light asked.

“I lived it,” Luke said.

“How so, Luke?” The Light responded.

The screen turned on. Luke could be seen laughing with friends.

“Did you share the Gospel with these friends of yours?” The Light asked.

“No, I didn’t,” Luke said.

“Were you embarrassed of Jesus?” The Light asked.

“No,” Luke said. “Of course not.”

“What appears to be going on with you in this video, Luke?” The Light asked.

“I was drunk,” Luke answered.

“Does that bring honor to Jesus?” The Light asked.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, Lord,” Luke said.

“Did you ever open your mouth to share the Gospel to anyone?” The Light asked.

“I talked with people about who Jesus was to me,” Luke said.

The screen showed what happened later that night. Luke hung out with his friends. He was smoking with them.

“How could anyone take you seriously, Luke?” The Light questioned. “Those that follow Jesus are called to be holy. That means you are called to be separate.”

“What’s this all about?” Luke responded.

The screen showed Luke wobbled to his car. He was intoxicated and full of glee.

“You aren’t acting like anyone who loves Me,” The Light said. “Many lives have been lost because of people decide to drink and drive.”

“I do love you,” Luke insisted. “I’m a believing Christian.”

“It is written so that you may understand before your appointment with death,” The Light said.

The screen read “1 John 2:3-6.”

“Then The Light said, “We know that we have come to know Him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.”

The screen showed Luke using foul language. It was also shown of him cursing at the young gentleman with the scar on his cheek. Another time was shown of Luke during a wedding reception, taking some money from his mother’s purse while she was away.

“You did not live as Jesus did,” The Light said.

“I’m saved!” Luke cried. “I don’t like this.”

“You were warned by someone who genuinely care about you,” The Light said. “He brought to your attention all the immoral things that you were doing. You were misled growing up, and did not know how the free gift of salvation could be applied to you. People and people in your church neglected to tell you that you must repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ. Only then, could you be forgiven on sin. You know it was written of what Jesus said.”

The screen showed “Luke 13:5.”

Then The Light said, “I tell you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

The screen showed Luke fussing at someone. “It is not your place to tell me what I am doing is wrong,” he said. “Only God can judge. Only God can judge me.”

“Your friend reached out to you,” The Light said. “There was no harm to you heeding his words. He prayed diligently for you. Your fruit, your actions, were awful. What he said to you was true. You had never genuinely repented of sin. Your whole life lacked repentance. One of the reasons believers pray is the same reason people in long-distant relationship call each other on the phone. It is like water to a growing garden. Your prayer life was almost nonexistent. You encouraged people to do what their hearts said, even though you knew it would be immoral of them. Because of you, many turned away from the message of love and truth. They took you as an example of a follower of Christ, when you were no such thing.”

“But I loved you, Lord,” Luke persisted.

“Jesus said it plainly,” The Light replied.

The screen read “Matthew 7:21-23.”

Then The Light said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

“I didn’t know!” Luke cried.

“That is why your friend came to you in love,” The Light said. “He was like a doctor who needed to inform you of your test results. Sure, the bad news was difficult to chew on, but that is what makes the Good News a blessing. It truly is good news. You knew that your lying and stealing and fornication were wrong. There will come a day where I tie all loss ends. You knew that I would serve justice to evil wherever it might be found. Evil is in your heart. You never repented. Repentance means to turn from.”

The screen showed all of Luke’s immoral actions.

“You did not love Me,” The Light said.

Luke was crying in the palms of his hands.

“Did you not realize I saw your thoughts,” The Light said. “I saw what you did in the dark. I saw the hate you harbored in your heart. I knew what you would do if you had a chance without consequences. I saw your every lustful thought and deed. You could relate it to a man knowing why, when, and how his wife was being unfaithful to him. Luke, you were not faithful to me. Your heart was far from me, even though you sung in the choir at your church. Even though you wore a cross. Even though you professed to believe in Jesus.

“No one had any right to mistreat you for the way that you were. There are things in people that I do not put there. There are desires in you that I did not place there. Those desires come from your heart, which is in a bad condition. But those desires brought you pleasure. In the end, you chose them over the love and life of Jesus. And in no way, does the torment and harassment people gave you excuse you from your own actions.”

Luke began to scream. He wailed and got out of his seat.

The room began to shake.

Suddenly, in a loud voice, The Light said, “Depart from Me!”