Every spring I clean my house, always hoping for a certain guest to arrive. I throw away all the junk I can find, then I think about all the good and bad times. I scrub the floors, shampoo the carpets, then give lots of good stuff to a charity. I wash the windows, mow the lawn, then pull the weeds around the apple trees. When I finish my cleaning, I sit in a chair. Then I open the good book, and meditate on the words that are there. I do this every year hoping he will come, of course he is welcome through out the year. But no matter how hard I look, he never comes. As the years went by, I became old. Time had taken it's toll on my body. I've started getting sick more and the weather worn my skin. As I'm laying in a hospital bed, waiting to die, a Chaplin walks into my room and I begin to cry. I tell him all about my life, and ask what I did wrong? He didn't say a word, but instead sat quietly next to my bed.
Before my death had finally come, I opened up my eyes. And the man I thought was a Chaplin, was Jesus in disguise. He thanked me for giving him such a good home. But as he said this, I began to get mad. "How can you say I gave you such a good home, when you never bothered to come over and say hi? I cleaned my house every spring and praised your holy name. Now you show up in my life, right before I die". "You will never know the joy I felt, watching your entire life, weather you know it or not, I've always been there. I've seen you clean your house and mow your lawn, and I've seen you read your Bible, always with such care". "Why didn't you show yourself, so I knew that you were there? I always waited patiently, for the love you like to share". "My brother, if I showed myself to you, then you would stop, you would stop cleaning and your house would be a mess. You would stop mowing your lawn, and your weeds would take control, my brother, this is the truth, and the truth you must confess". "What did I do wrong my Lord, so I couldn't see your truth?" "O' yee of little faith, no human is perfect, you were just so wrapped up with the material world, that you couldn't see the spiritual one. You wanted a man to live with you, your entire life. You waited and waited for him to show up, and he never did. Early in your life the holy spirit found a home inside your house. My brother, you did nothing wrong, you loved me and looked for me just like the father looked for his prodigal son or how the Shepard looked for his lost sheep. But my brother, It's not your responsibility to be the father or the Shepard, it is mine. You did nothing wrong my brother, you lived a good life and now it's time my brother goes home and my lost sheep returns to the herd". As Jesus spoke those words my old age had settled in. After I told him I loved him dearly, I closed my eyes and died.
The beepers and buzzers had began to off and the nurses and doctors had all come running in. They covered the old mans face with a sheet and a nurse asked the Chaplin if he died peacefully? The Chaplin looked at the nurse and thought for a minute before he said... "I don't know..." The nurse was shocked and said to the Chaplin. "What do you mean you don't know?" The Chaplin who was still quite puzzled commented. "He died without pain, but I believe he was also quite delusional. He was caring on a conversation with me but it wasn't me he was talking too. I sat here and held his hand so he knew I was here but something odd happened and I could not control my body. I was sitting here watching the old man die and the conversation he was having, was with someone else. Someone or something took control of my body and returned his conversation. I could not hear the conversation I only watched it happen. So either the old man was delusional or something spiritual just happened here." The nurse thought for a moment and said very bluntly. "Chaplin I know your a man of God, but I really think you should see a shrink!" Then the nurse turned and left the room leaving the Chaplin to stare at the old mans corpse. The Chaplin did go and see a religious counselor. A year later he believed he was the one having delusions, probably from working so hard.
Everyone spends there lives waiting for Jesus to come, but how many people realize it when he does?
