A broken and scared woman gave birth to a baby boy one dark night in a cold alley. She didn't have any choice in the timing and environment in which she gave birth and had no one to help her. Alone, she did everything she could and gave everything she could to bring the boy into the world, including her last breath. A homeless teen found the baby and saved him from the elements. She raised him the best she could and taught him to survive in a harsh and cruel world.
When the baby had grown to be a young man, he got sick. Near death he curled up on the sidewalk and waited for the end. A man saw him and had pity on him. He took the young man home, cleaned him up, treated his sickness and fed him. The man's heart filled with compassion and love for the orphan, and he decided to adopt him. But when the paperwork was being done it was discovered that the young man was wanted by the law. Some of the things he had done in order to survive, while understandable and natural, were against the laws of the land and required that the guilty one be put to death.
The benefactor felt heartbroken at the loss. So, he put his affairs in order and made a will that stated the young man would inherit his wealth. Then, he convinced the judge to allow him to take the young man's place. The orphan's benefactor went to the gallows so that the orphan could not only live but have the best of everything. A few months later, the rich man who once was an outlaw orphaned street urchin walked down the street and a filthy young man bumped into him.
It was obvious the young man had not eaten well or regularly and hadn't been clean in who knew how long. The dirty outcast looked up into the eyes of the rich man expecting the worse. He got it. The rich man pushed the young man away and cursed him. How dare he not look where he's going! He better learn to respect his betters! What he does to survive is illegal and immoral! The rich man called for the law while the orphan ran away.
Does this little tale make you want to slap the rich man in the back of the head and wake him up? Do you want him to remember where he came from and show compassion, love and acceptance as he was shown? We'll all too often, that rich adopted orphan is us. We have been found dirty and needy and law-breakers. The King saved us, redeemed us, paid the price for our violations and has made us inheritors. Now that we are clean let us not lose our empathy, compassion and love for those who are not clean. Let us be ever mindful of what he called us out of. We have the chance to love others into the family. We have no business calling for the law and chasing them away or cursing them.
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