Short Story: Glad to be persecuted for His sake

Alice sighed as she stared at the note, slipped into her locker in her dormitory. Jesus Freak. It was the same note, everyday, and she even knew who had slipped it into her locker. Alex and his gang of atheists, who mocked everyone who believed in Jesus.

At the history lesson in class, professor Tom declared that Christianity was soon to become an outdated religion as there was no historical proof of the existence of Jesus Christ.

“Anyone dared to disagree that Jesus was but a myth?” Professor Tom said, smugly.

Alice raised up her hand.

“Jesus is not a myth. He exists, His disciples are willing to die for their beliefs in Him. If He is not who He claimed to be, why will the disciples of Jesus die for their beliefs in Jesus?” Alice said.

“You are just one blinded fool, following the religion of your parents.” the professor exclaimed. “Sit down and stop arguing with me.”

“Jesus Freak!” Alex laughed out loud.

Alice left the class, feeling a bit discouraged that no one shared her belief in Jesus. Was she the only Christian in class? Should she even speak up for the Lord anymore?

Lord. Why should I be persecuted for my faith in you? Is there even a purpose in it? Alice whispered in prayer to Jesus.

At lunchtime, Sarah walked up to her.

“You are very brave,” Sarah replied. “There are many of us, Christians, in this class. But none of us dare to stand up for Jesus like the way you did. I felt very encouraged by your faith.”

Alice smiled. The Lord had answered her prayer. If she managed to encourage even one Christian brother or sister, her persecution was worth the price. Alice was glad to be persecuted for Jesus!

Short Story: Not renouncing Jesus at all Costs!

Mary loved Jesus with a passion. She would read the bible, pray and fast and worship the Lord in songs. She would do this in church, at home and in school. Mary's fervent devotion to the Lord did not come without a cost. In her school, she was nicknamed, “Mother Mary” by her classmates, who often mocked and insulted her. Still, she continued to live her life without change, being devoted to her God.

Bryan hated his teachers, hated his classmates and hated himself. He thought this world was a product of random chances and he felt that life was not worth living. When his classmate Mary tried to share the gospel with him, he mocked and ridiculed her. He had no desire to receive Christ, he did not believe in God, this world was after-all a product of mere chances. Religion was for people who were self-delusional. 

Bryan wanted to kill himself, but before he did that, he wanted others to die as well. He took a rifle and went to school, shooting everyone in sight. He caught sight of Mary, reading the bible at one corner in the school canteen. Ha, now is the chance to expose the hypocrisy of religion. Taking his rifle, he walked to Mary.

“Will you renounce Jesus or will you die for a mere myth?” Mary stared at the rifle pointed at her head, as her classmate Bryan asked her a very difficult question for her to answer. She loved life and wanted to live a long life. Still, she could not deny her Lord. No, never.

“I choose not to renounce Jesus.” Mary replied. Bang.

Welcome home, my child. Mary smiled as she looked at the lovely face of her saviour in paradise.

Short Story: Dedicated to Jesus

Susan wept. She had tried days to get a baby, but it was to no avail. Every night, she went to bed, with an attempt to get pregnant. Every day, she was disappointed by the fact that pregnancy did not come in spite of her trying hard for it. 

Susan thought about Jesus, and thought that where human efforts might fail, perhaps the Lord will succeed. Therefore, she prayed, "Jesus, if you give me a child of my own, I will dedicate him or her to you and teach him or her about your ways." 

Jesus heard her, and next year, she gave birth to a son, whom she named Tom. When Tom was born, Susan was so busy taking care of him and ensuring that his physical needs were met, that she forgot about her promise to God. She failed to dedicate the child to God. She did not teach him about Jesus nor tell him bible stories when it was bedtime. She did not pray for him to believe and walk in the Lord. On his 13th birthday, as per his request, she bought him a deck of tarot cards even though divination was a sin in the eyes of the Lord.

The child grew in his love for the occult and progressed from playing with tarot cards to accepting Satan into his life. He bought a Satanic bible for himself, much to the distress of Susan. Because Satan hated Jesus, Tom hated Jesus as well. Since his mother was a Christian who worshiped Jesus, he hated her as well. He placed a curse in her life and was very rude to her. He even told her how he hated her and did not want her to be his mother.

Due to the troubles with her son, Susan began to pour out her woes to Jesus.

"Oh Jesus, I'd rather you never bring Tom into my life! Why did you give him to me when he would grow up to be so rebellious!" Jesus quietly listened to her complaints though the fault lied with her.

On his 23rd birthday, Tom was sentenced to the death row for the multiple murders of Christian children. He did it as a devotion to his father Satan. Susan was deeply grieved. As a result of Tom's rebellion, she had grown close to Jesus and Jesus reminded her that long ago, she promised to dedicate her son to Him and still could do so, if she would. Even though she had not kept her side of the bargain while the Lord had kept His, the Lord was kind and patient with her and told her to pray for her son's salvation.

Susan repented of her sins. She began to fall on her knees and prayed for the salvation of Tom. She dedicated her son Tom to Jesus and asked Him to use him in heaven even while he could not use him on earth. The Lord graciously answered her prayers. Tom met a pastor during his time in jail and just before he was given the electric chair, he received Jesus as his savior and wrote to his mother to forgive him for the unfilial son that he was. Susan was overjoyed. She might have lost his son on earth, but she gained a son in eternity. And this occurred because she remembered her promise to dedicate her son to Jesus.

Short Story: The Atheist's Choice

He sat, alone, in his room. The room was locked. The curtain was drawn, and the windows were tightly secured. His house was free from the presence of another human being. He was determined to shut himself up from everyone. He must be careful. The success of his act depended on the fact that no one knew anything about it.

His wife and children, especially, must be kept away from the secret for as long as possible. He had taken precautions to ensure that they knew nothing about his decision. It would be months after he completed his task before they would find up about it. That was his plans. His plans always worked. He was a careful man, a man of plans.

The pistol was loaded. It should be a quick one. Just a pull of a trigger. Just once. And it would be over. He should vanish into nothingness. God is a myth invented by fearful men to convince themselves that their pathetic lives were worth more than just some random products of chance. Strong man like him had no such need for an entity that existed only in the head of those who were afraid of death.

"I will do this like a man," he said to himself. He took a deep breath, and pointed the tip of the pistol at his own head.

What if... He existed?

No, it could not be the case. He had given his entire life to disproving His existence. It must not be the case.

"You are running away," a small gentle voice spoke into his ears. He hesitated.

"I am not," he replied.

"Yes, you are," the voice replied to him.

I must be going mad, the man thought to himself
.
"I am running away from nothing." He replied. His voice was steady.

"You are running away from me." The voice was firm.

"Running away from you? You do not even exist. Why will I run away from someone that doesn’t exist?” He laughed.

"You know the answer," the voice said, calmly. "You do not like the idea of being made by me. You do not want to be accountable to someone for your actions in life. And most importantly, you are fearful.”

"Fearful? Ha, are you joking? The fearful ones are those who believe in you!”

"No, they are the brave ones. But you, though you deem yourself to be intelligent and brave, is the real foolish coward.”

"What am I fearful of? Tell me, oh my imaginary friend, what am I afraid of?" The man sneered.

"Admitting you are wrong." The answer was straight forward. It stunned the man into a long period of silence.

“I am famous in the University for being the moral and intelligent atheist. I cannot tell them now that you exist. My reputation is very important to me.” The man pleaded. His voice was still calm, but his fingers began to tremble, slightly. "I am in debt, more debt than my family can ever pay off. My investment in the stock market has backfired. I am left with a wife and three children and I can no longer provide for them. It is the end for me.”

The man waited for the voice to respond, but it did not respond. The man waited for a long moment. There was no voice. Only silence. The man laughed. What a fool I had been, to think He is real. He turned his attention back to the pistol that he pointed towards his head.

"A choice," the irritating voice spoke. "I give you and everyone a choice. You can choose to swallow your pride and bravely confront the ruins it had brought into your own life, by accepting my help. Or you can be a coward, and choose to run away from me forever."

"Oh, shut up," the man shouted to no one in particular. His voice was trembling, now. The man was in anguish. He was no longer certain about his absolute belief in the non-existence of the being that fearful people chose to worship as God. Time slowed its pace to a stop, while the fingers of the atheist continued to tremble. The atheist struggled in the stillness whether to pull the trigger or to confront the people who used to respect his belief in the non-existence of God.