Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a king had two sons. They were very close to him and to each other and he gave them many useful gifts to fit them for eternity. All was well, until the king had a third son. He gave him gifts as well, gifts not necessarily better but most definitely different from what he had given his other sons.

About the same time, captives in a far away country began sending secret messages to the king, begging him for help and rescue. These captives were held under the control of the wicked witch. She was a tyrant, working them like slaves, killing them if they didn't do what she wanted, and brainwashing those who longed for something better. The king's heart was touched by the stories of suffering and the pleas sent for aid. He mustered an army, and left his home to rescue the captives.

At the city gate, he called his three sons to him and gave them each one more gift. To the first, he gave gentleness. To the second, he gave a valiant spirit. And to the third, he gave keen insight. Then he blessed them and left to the far country.

The first two looked at their gifts, and then at the youngest's gift. Each gift glowed with holiness but the youngest's seemed to glow just a little more brightly than theirs did. They left their gifts outside and went into a secret chamber of the palace to consult together. "It's not fair!" the first complained. "Our father loves him more than us!"

"I've heard that that kid isn't even our father's child! He's a nobody, welcomed into the king's household!" the second thought a moment. "I know! What if we make him feel like he isn't welcomed! Then he'll leave!"

"But we can't do anything to physically hurt him. Our father wouldn't be pleased with us if we did that," the first cautioned.

"Of course not! But that doesn't mean we can't say things. Things that will drive him away from this palace. If we succeed, then we will have our father's love again!"

The two princes agreed on this plan and left the chamber to find their brother. Meanwhile, the brother had embraced his gift from his father, and the elder brothers found plenty of occasion to pick arguments with him. His keen insight (and ability to voice his convictions) were constant annoyances to the older brothers. Time passed, the fights got worse and worse, and one by one the servants began dropping their positions at the palace. They didn't want to be in a place that was becoming nearly as bad as the witch's kingdom! More time passed, and at last came the day when the youngest son began focusing on what his brothers told him instead of what his father had promised him, and wished he could die.

And that day, the king returned. He found his city in chaos, his palace in shambles, and his youngest son's spirit broken. The youngest prince had accepted the fact that his father "didn't love him" and wanted nothing to do with him. It wasn't long until the king found out what had been happening. He called his three sons to him for one more gift.

He spoke to his youngest son first, "I have loved you with an everlasting love but you have not believed me. If you had turned to me when this first started, I would have covered you with my love and protected you with my life. But you thought you could handle it on your own. So while my gates will always be open to you, I know that you will not stay here anymore. Your gift is my blessing. Go in peace, my son, and come home soon."

He turned to the older sons, "You told your brother that he wasn't my actual son, which is true. That he was adopted, which is true. And that because he was not born to me, he is a nobody. What you failed to realize, is that you were not my actual sons. You were adopted. And you were not born to me. I rescued you, same as I rescued these captives behind me. However instead of strengthening your brother when you had the chance, you tore him down with your malicious speech. Therefore, be gone from me. Your home and your gifts shall be for those that called for me. These captives have been freed to be my sons and daughters. Your gift is to leave. It would be torture for you to stay here with so many people claiming my love."

All three princes left the palace that day. The gifts that the king had given them were stripped from their characters. And as they stepped through the city gate, the wicked witch beguiled them step by step deep into her country.


He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a king had two sons. They were very close to him and to each other and he gave them many useful gifts to fit them for eternity. All was well, until the king had a third son. He gave him gifts as well, gifts not necessarily better but most definitely different from what he had given his other sons.

About the same time, captives in a far away country began sending secret messages to the king, begging him for help and rescue. These captives were held under the control of the wicked witch. She was a tyrant, working them like slaves, killing them if they didn't do what she wanted, and brainwashing those who longed for something better. The king's heart was touched by the stories of suffering and the pleas sent for aid. He mustered an army, and left his home to rescue the captives.

At the city gate, he called his three sons to him and gave them each one more gift. To the first, he gave gentleness. To the second, he gave a valiant spirit. And to the third, he gave keen insight. Then he blessed them and left to the far country.

The first two looked at their gifts, and then at the youngest's gift. Each gift glowed with holiness but the youngest's seemed to glow just a little more brightly than theirs did. They left their gifts outside and went into a secret chamber of the palace to consult together. "It's not fair!" the first complained. "Our father loves him more than us!"

"I've heard that that kid isn't even our father's child! He's a nobody, welcomed into the king's household!" the second thought a moment. "I know! What if we make him feel like he isn't welcomed! Then he'll leave!"

"But we can't do anything to physically hurt him. Our father wouldn't be pleased with us if we did that," the first cautioned.

"Of course not! But that doesn't mean we can't say things. Things that will drive him away from this palace. If we succeed, then we will have our father's love again!"

The two princes agreed on this plan and left the chamber to find their brother. Meanwhile, the brother had embraced his gift from his father, and the elder brothers found plenty of occasion to pick arguments with him. His keen insight (and ability to voice his convictions) were constant annoyances to the older brothers. Time passed, the fights got worse and worse, and one by one the servants began dropping their positions at the palace. They didn't want to be in a place that was becoming nearly as bad as the witch's kingdom! More time passed, and at last came the day when the youngest son began focusing on what his brothers told him instead of what his father had promised him, and wished he could die.

And that day, the king returned. He found his city in chaos, his palace in shambles, and his youngest son's spirit broken. The youngest prince had accepted the fact that his father "didn't love him" and wanted nothing to do with him. It wasn't long until the king found out what had been happening. He called his three sons to him for one more gift.

He spoke to his youngest son first, "I have loved you with an everlasting love but you have not believed me. If you had turned to me when this first started, I would have covered you with my love and protected you with my life. But you thought you could handle it on your own. So while my gates will always be open to you, I know that you will not stay here anymore. Your gift is my blessing. Go in peace, my son, and come home soon."

He turned to the older sons, "You told your brother that he wasn't my actual son, which is true. That he was adopted, which is true. And that because he was not born to me, he is a nobody. What you failed to realize, is that you were not my actual sons. You were adopted. And you were not born to me. I rescued you, same as I rescued these captives behind me. However instead of strengthening your brother when you had the chance, you tore him down with your malicious speech. Therefore, be gone from me. Your home and your gifts shall be for those that called for me. These captives have been freed to be my sons and daughters. Your gift is to leave. It would be torture for you to stay here with so many people claiming my love."

All three princes left the palace that day. The gifts that the king had given them were stripped from their characters. And as they stepped through the city gate, the wicked witch beguiled them step by step deep into her country.


He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Kwesi, I am a saint. That’s not blasphemy because I’m a Christian, and true Christians are saints. Jesus is not my brother; He is my ruler and Messiah which also means Christ according to the footnotes in the NIV Bible.

Prov17 wrote: Stop please stop this is too blasphemous

Kwesi wrote: I am a saint!
*que everyone to bow down to me*
but in all seriousness, I agree with Kwesi. Saints are used by Catholics to worship people. I am not a saint, I am a sinner, and I need God's grace to save me. Saying I am a saint is almost like saying I don't need God to save me. I'm open to someone proving me wrong, but that's how I see it as of now.

LolingforJesus wrote: The way Catholics worship the saints is different from the actual meaning. Just because I am a saint doesn’t mean I cannot sin. All it means is that I have given my life to God and am trying my best to do what is right and to follow Him to the best of my ability.

Kwesi, I am a saint. That’s not blasphemy because I’m a Christian, and true Christians are saints. Jesus is not my brother; He is my ruler and Messiah which also means Christ according to the footnotes in the NIV Bible.

Prov17 wrote: Stop please stop this is too blasphemous

@LolingforJesus

You are a sinner in need of a Savior. That Savior is Jesus, and He saved you from sin. It's not something that will happen in the future...you're assured your salvation right now. Therefore, if you're washed in the blood of Christ, you're a saint. In God's eyes, you're a saint because Christ's character was put over your sinful one. Even though you still live in this sinful world and make mistakes sometimes, you're covered with Jesus' righteousness. So you're a saint.

Paul addresses the believers as saints, and I don't conside this blasphemous in the least. To me, it doesn't sound like he's focusing on our works. It seems like he's focusing on Jesus. And because his focus is Jesus, he's able to say we're saints, because it's only once we place Jesus as the focal point that we can say with truth that we are saints.

I hope I helped someone out! And please don't take this personally. I'm stating my opinion, not enforcing a fact.

BeAnxiousForNothing wrote: oh, I'm not saying that we are not saints.
I just prefer not to call myself a saint...

LolingforJesus wrote: Why?

SirGeneralCliche wrote: I don't know it seems kind of like a stupid thing to say. I understand why Prov17 said it and it was because someone asked him if he thought he was. But if you're like mentioning it all the time and almost bragging about it, you come off like your on a high horse and your putting yourself on a pedestal.

SRNitro wrote:
Plus, while we are saints, it still gives the wrong impression, because of the way the term is used nowadays. So it's best not to use it because it'll give people the wrong idea, as you can probably tell from this whole argument.