Little Lost Leon: Chapter Thirteen

chapter thirteen

Alfred never did become acquainted with a guardian angel.  Ah, but while he was out in the saddle early one morning watching several foals having too much fun romping about in a pasture, a voice inside of his head started clearly speaking.

“Not too much difference between the carousing around out here and the carousing often going on back in the main house—is there?"

“No, none at all.”

“It sure puts the fairly common expression, horsing around, into perspective.”

“Yes, it most definitely does.”

Alfred was still chuckling to himself when he realized that he had just had a brief conversation with himself!  Well, at least he thought it had been with himself.

“Surprised?”

“Are you the guardian angel who speaks to Vernon from time to time?”

“No.  I am the One over him.”

“The Archangel Michael?”

“No, I am over him.  For I am the Lord God Almighty, your Heavenly Father.”

Alfred almost fell out of the saddle.  For it sounded like a thousand questions were being shouted at the same time inside of his head, and Alfred was no longer so sure of his thoughts being strictly his own.

“I really don’t know what to say.”

“Good.  Just sit there and listen for a little bit while I answer a few of your questions to make it easier for you to digest the rest.”

“Okay.”

“Do you remember understanding very early on that the milk from the mare that had just given birth would be also very good for your baby sister, Ruby?”

“Yes.”

“How do you suppose you knew that without being taught by one of your parents or someone else you were aware of?”

“I don’t know, but I have often wondered about it.”

“I was one the One who gave you that thought, and it was not the first time I did that for you, nor has it been the last.  For I have been telling you things through your thoughts since you were in the womb.  No, not as clearly as I am doing now, but they were still there.  Can you really be so arrogant as to believe that you came up with all of those brilliant ideas how to improve Shire products and procedures all on your own?”

"No, the last thing I want to be is arrogant—not after all of the help I have received from Graham, Edgar and so many others over the years."

“Ah, but it is quite natural for someone who has survived and flourished after the horrors you and Ruby endured as children to be very proud of their accomplishments and lord it over those who languished in their own miserable memories.”

“I have heard it taught by several Christian ministers that You cannot interfere with mankind’s freewill.  So, is that why You did nothing while my mother, sister and I were being brutalized?”

“Alas, the vast majority who claim to know Me well do not really know Me at all, nor do they want to.  For they are perfectly content with believing that the semblance of knowledge they think they have of Me and My ways is good enough.”

“Is there not something you can do about that?”

“I am each and every day, but I keep My ways a mystery to those who do not want to know.  Deep down within themselves, those false prophets and teachers know that what they are saying is false.  For I am also talking to them, and they will be held accountable for every unrepentant falsehood they have spread about Me, come Judgment Day.  In the meantime, all of my true children by faith know what the absolute truth is about many, many things because I have personally taught them, and they have humbly accepted My instruction.”

“I have also heard it taught that You created some for glory and all others for destruction.  Are You saying that those You created for glory are personally taught by You while You ignore all others?”

“No, that is not at all what I am saying, and it is a blatant lie straight out of the mouths of the devil and his demons that I create some for glory and all others for destruction.  It is based on a perversion of Scripture given through My Apostle Paul in the form of a rhetorical question as an example.  I assure you that I have not predestined anyone for glory or destruction, but I have known since before I created anyone just who would want to truly be one of My children by faith and who would not.”

“I can understand why You would not want to interfere with the testing going on during our lifetimes in this world, but I do not understand why you could not have created us without the capacity to be so cruel to one another.”

Mostly as part of making it harder for mankind to want to love Me.”

“WHAT?”

“Do you remember Edgar kidding you about being the most eligible bachelor in the region?”

“Yes.”

“So, is this why Miranda wanted to marry you?”

“No, I do not believe so.  Oh, owning Shire and all that goes along with that certainly does not hurt, but I would like to believe that she loves me for the way I treat her and others.”

“You are absolutely correct.  For Miranda does indeed love you much more for the goodness of your heart than all of your material wealth and physical good looks.  I created her that way, and I created you to be the way you are.”

“Did You also create my father to be as He was?”

“No, but I allowed your father to be possessed by a demon at a very early age.  He did not choose to be controlled by evil, but he embraced the wickedness with all of his heart and refused to let go of it when he was given opportunities to.”

“He is now suffering in Hell?”

“Yes.  Does this please you?”

“Strangely, no.  The thought of that has pleased me at times in the past, but I now feel very sad for him.”

“Good.  I assure you that his destruction does not please me, either.  For I have never wanted to see the destruction of anyone, but it would not satisfy Me to force anyone to spend all of eternity with Me in My Kingdom of Heaven as an heir to all that is Mine in glory against their will.”

“That does not make any sense to me.  For if you never wanted to see the destruction of anyone—why didn’t you just create people as you wanted them to be?”

“I did.  For I wanted to receive love that was truly freely given like the kind of love you are receiving from Miranda.  Therefore, I gave mankind the freedom to reject My advances, but I wanted more than just the kind of love you are receiving.  It is true that she loves you for the right reasons, but it would take a much more special kind of love for her to still want to love you if you were like your father.  This is the kind of love I want, and I made it where it seems much more likely that I created mankind to be the objects of My scorn—certainly not My affections.”

“It sure seems that way with my mother.”

“Yes, I placed her with your father and had her suffer greatly for six years, but what you are missing is the rest of her story.  For she now rests until the time for Me to openly reign over this world for a thousand years after the time of the antichrist.  She will be part of the first resurrection, and she will reign with Me over this world for a thousand years.  For she was persecuted for her faith in Me, and she stayed true to Me—despite all of the horrors I subjected her to.  I will pour out My gratitude on her for all of eternity.  No, not because she lived a perfectly righteous life.  For I have never wanted that, and all I ask is for as many as will to be willing to give Me the full benefit of their considerable doubts and trust that I have always wanted them to spend all of eternity with Me in My Kingdom of Heaven as an heir to all that is Mine in glory.  I did not create mankind to sin, but I created mankind without the natural ability to resist sin.  Then I let loose the devil and his demons to exploit mankind’s natural weaknesses to make their sins even more egregious.  I established My Law so that no one could honestly say that they were without sin, but I also paid the price in full for all of mankind’s transgressions of My Law to prove just how much I really do love each and every one of them.  I sent a full and equal part of Myself to fulfill the requirement of My Law, which is that the wages of sin is death—spiritual death, to be exact.  All who will but believe that I paid the price in full for their sins and accept Me as their own personal Lord and Savior will live forever.  All who refuse will be cast into the Lake of Fire, come Judgment Day.  For there will be no other place to reside for those who do not want to accept Me as their own Heavenly Father.”

“Are You talking about the Trinity?”

“Yes, I exist as Your Heavenly Father, Your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit, Who works in and through mankind while they are still apart of this world.  Technically, I am here as My Holy spirit right now with you, but I cannot be separated from the other two parts of Myself.  Not again.  For a part of Me had to spiritually die and be separated from the other two parts in order to fulfill the requirement of the Law for the sins of mankind.  This was more devastating on Us than you can even start to naturally comprehend, but it was a price well worth paying for You, for all of mankind.  We will talk more when you have some time to digest what I have given you.”

“Please, there is one more question I must ask before You go.”

“Oh, but I will not be going anywhere but silent for a little while.  I have always been always with you since the womb.  I have always been with each and every individual I have created and will create.  You want to know why you and your sister had to suffer so at the hands of your father.  It was to make you more readily acceptable to those your father also hurt.  Those you were being prepared to help lead and care for in this world through Shire and the Blue Valley Academy.  I leave nothing to chance.  In fact, there is no such thing as chance.  For I know everything about everything long before it comes to pass.  There are no coincidences.  Everything has always been under My full control—except for the choice I give each individual concerning whether or not they want to truly be one of My children by faith, whether or not they want to accept Me as truly being their own Heavenly Father.  I want to have a very close and personal relationship with you, and we will talk more like this soon.”

Alfred was amazed at how clear-headed he was.  For he fully expected to be dizzy as a coon, as they say around those parts, after an encounter like that.

Alfred had to laugh at himself over that.  “For how would I know, he asked himself, “What to expect after having a little talk with the Creator of the universe?”

Alfred could swear that he was aware of His Heavenly Father shaking His head back and forth like Graham often does when acting like he cannot believe what he had just heard or saw.  “Oh yes, Alfred thought to himself again, “Things are about to get very interesting.”

“You have no idea.”

As if Alfred had not already received enough of a shock to his systematic way of perceiving things for one day, he did not hear that last reply through his thoughts.  For it came from an audible voice outside of himself, and Alfred spurred his horse toward the main house with a very strong urge to dive headfirst into the Word, which he understood at the time to mean open his Bible and start studying it seriously.

When Alfred went to pick up his Bible, it fell open to a page with, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. [Hebrews 4:12 KJV]

Alfred did indeed become as dizzy as a coon then, and he sat his Bible down on his desk in his study.  After his mind stopped spinning so much, Alfred picked it up again, and his Bible fell open to a page with, And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. [Revelation 19:11-16 KJV]

Alfred was not quite as dizzy this time, but he still sat his Bible down on his desk to contemplate what he had just read.  When he picked it up again, it fell open to a page with, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. [John 1:1-5 KJV]

Alfred then had a very strong urge to tell Vernon about his conversation with the Lord and consult with him about what he had just read.  Alfred found Vernon in his office at BVA, and Vernon could not help but have a little fun at Alfred’s expense.

“I must admit, Alfred, to being somewhat insulted that I have only spoken with an angel and here you are talking about having an extended conversation with the Lord God Almighty Himself!”

“I am sorry, Vernon.  I sure did not mean to insult you.”

“Oh no, my dear, dear friend.  You have not insulted me in the least.  In fact, I find it quite humbling that our Heavenly Father would urge you to seek my counsel, and I was just trying to lighten the mood a little before we address such a weighty issue.  Besides, He has already revealed to me that anything spoken to me by one of His holy angels is the same as Him saying it Himself.  For they will not speak to us on their own.”

“Thank you, Vernon.  I must admit to feeling quite overwhelmed right now.”

“Just as I was after the angel appeared to me in that vision, with that feeling still being just as strong when I came to you in your study before the raid on my father’s compound.  To be perfectly honest about it, I hope it never becomes overwhelming to me, but it has become a little more tolerable as I mature in Him.”

“What about my thoughts on the true Word of God actually being the Lord Jesus Christ—not the Bible?  Did they come from Him or were they just my own?”

“No, they were not just of yourself.  Some of your speculating was, of course, but it was our Heavenly Father starting it.  If you don’t mind, I would rather just refer to the Lord God Almighty, His only begotten Son, who truly is the Lord Jesus Christ and Their Holy Spirit as being as just our Heavenly Father.  For this is more intimate to me, and it saves a lot confusion over trying to separate the Trinity.”

“Yes, He spoke to me about that, and I also find it more intimate to refer to Him as our Heavenly Father instead of specifying that it was His Holy Spirit who spoke to me.”

“Good.  Now, let’s get back to the true Word of God being the Lord Jesus Christ—not the book He Authored about Himself and all of His most awesome ways.  He has also spoken to me about this, and I now understand the absolute truth of the matter truly being that He gave His Holy Scriptures to serve as written confirmation of what He Himself wants to personally teach us.  You are now experiencing the way He wants it to work.  For He first speaks to someone about something, and if they do not already realize it, He leads them to written confirmation of it in His Holy Scriptures.  He also uses His chosen servants to reinforce—either directly or indirectly, what He wants someone to know and understand about what He actually says is absolutely true, which is what He is having me do for you right now.  It is still all left to the person to humbly accept it or not, of course.”

“Wow, it is all so very simple now.  Well, not ALL, but at least about what we are discussing here.  Thank you so very much for helping me.  See, I told you that you would be a very valuable member of my family!”

“Be assured that it is not of me.  For there is absolutely nothing good about me apart from our Heavenly Father, and He is the One doing good in and through me—just as He has been doing in and through you.”

“With us all.  For I can understand now how He was working through my father to do good, even though my father meant it to be evil.”

“The same with my parents, and everyone else who does wicked things.  No, this is not to call evil good, but what others intend for evil purposes, our Heavenly Father uses for our ultimate good.  Oh, and speaking of evil, it just came to me that we would do well to not take anything too much for granted when it comes to what is bouncing around in our brains.  For the devil and his demons are allowed to mess with our minds from time to time, and they can sure make things sound oh so very righteous and most definitely from our Heavenly Father when it is not.  It is nothing for our Heavenly Father to overcome, of course.  However, we can do a lot of damage by jumping on something too quickly.”

“Whoa, while you were saying all of that, it was almost like I could hear our Heavenly Father saying very softly, ‘Right.  Right.  Right.’”

“There is a passage of Scripture where the Apostle Paul is talking about speaking in tongues and someone in a congregation interpreting what was being said in that unknown tongue being spoken by someone else.  Well, that can happen like it sounds, but one of the things that is so misunderstood about speaking in tongues is talking about things that sound completely foreign to the listener.  In other words, the speaker may be speaking English, but it all sounds like Greek to the listener because the speaker is talking about things that the listener has never heard of or even perceived before.  Mature Christians will talk about things that sound like Greek to so-called babes in Christ, but even though those things are far beyond the understanding of the babies at the time, it is still recognizable as truly being from our Heavenly Father because of the witness of His Holy Spirit within them, which you just experienced.”

“Wow, these are some deep waters we are navigating here, Vernon.  I hope I do not capsize and drown.”

“All who abide in Me can walk on such waters with ease.”

That last reply came from our Heavenly Father in an audible voice that both Alfred and Vernon heard.  Neither one said a word as they looked at each other with bugged-out eyes, and it took a few seconds before they started breathing normally again.

Such was the start of our Heavenly Father making Himself real unto Alfred, and the beginning of Alfred’s education at His feet, so to speak.  Their relationship did indeed grow into a very close and personal one, and their discussions covered much more than just what is generally considered to be matters of spiritual life or death in the eyes of this world.

Alfred came to understand that our Heavenly Father is interested in every aspect of our daily lives in this world and that much of it mirrors—albeit rather dimly, much of what He has subjected Himself to in a number of very different ways.  This information came as Alfred was rapidly reaching a breaking point.  For when he needed to be conducting Shire matters, Alfred felt so very guilty for neglecting what he understood to be our Heavenly Father’s matters, and when Alfred was focused on those matters, he felt so very guilty for neglecting Shire matters.

Last, but certainly not least, were family matters, and Alfred felt even guiltier about neglecting them.  All of the pressure he was putting on himself swiftly drifted away when he understood that he was not neglecting our Heavenly Father’s matters by doing the best he could with Shire and his family.

Vernon caused quite a stir in the Christian community when he started teaching classes at BVA about what he and Alfred were being taught by our Heavenly Father.  The largest crowds ever were in attendance for his public debates with Christian ministers insisting that God stopped all direct communication with mankind after the canon of Scripture was complete.  Actual fighting broke out over one minister proudly walking to the podium and proceeding to argue that the King James 1611 Authorized Version of the Bible was the only accurate English translation in existence.  This was backed up by another, who argued that God had adopted Shakespearean English as the language He actually spoke after establishing America as the new Promised Land for His new chosen people, European Christians.

Alfred was beginning to wonder if he needed to call for some of the Shire foundry workers to come restore order, but Vernon quickly had everyone calmed down by reasoning that it was more Christ-like to try to change minds instead of bashing heads.  Leon was quite impressed with his father that night.  He was not the only one, and Ruby knew just exactly how to make her man feel like he was indeed the king of his castle—even though they were still living under Alfred and Miranda's roof.

Yes, it could be argued that it was technically her roof, too.  Alfred and Miranda certainly did not dispute this, but as far as Ruby and Vernon were concerned, they were living under Alfred and Miranda’s roof.

When asked about what he thought, Leon would insist that he was just thankful for finally having a family of his own, with no disrespect meant toward Wayne, Michael and Michaela, nor William and Marie.  Loren, Annie and Rusty said basically the same thing, except for the part about the other folks, of course.

Considering how much money Alfred donated to help pay for the reconstruction costs of Leon’s old home town, no one left up there was feeling the least bit disrespected.  Alfred even expanded Shire’s business interests to include a new brewery built up there in partnership with the family of one of his grandfather’s old business associates in a neighboring state.  The old brewery had not been rebuilt, and the local economy was next to non-existent.

Alfred also did a lot for the surviving relatives of William and Marie.  A satellite branch of BVA was established in Whistling Pines, and the young couple who had helped Leon when he first arrived from up north were put in charge of it.  For they were both already in the education field as low-level teachers, and they thrived as administrators of an institution of higher learning.

Getting back to Loren, Annie and Rusty, Vernon and Ruby had formally adopted them as soon as it was legally permissible.  The official adoption had to wait for two years until all efforts to find blood-relatives were exhausted, but it really was just a legal formality.  For Loren, Annie and Rusty had adopted Vernon, Ruby and Leon the day they first met.

No, that had nothing to do with Loren, Annie and Rusty being glad to be rid of their biological father and mother.  For it was just part of our Heavenly Father giving them a better life to live in this world.

Alfred and Ruby both came to fully accept that what their father had done to them and their mother was not really his fault and even grieved over him refusing to accept the amount of our Heavenly Father’s grace afforded him.  There was not a dry eye in the house when they came forward to offer their testimony during the first service of Vernon’s First Refined Church of Blue Valley.

Vernon did not even preach a sermon during that first service.  For after Alfred and Ruby came forward to offer their testimony, so did his father and mother, who were followed by a dozen other former members of the underground cabal.

In fact, it was several weeks before Vernon actually preached a sermon, and he did not mind a bit.  For what our Heavenly Father had in mind for First Refined was not another copy of what was generally accepted as being a traditional Christian church service.  For it was to be more like a BVA classroom, where the congregation would ask questions and openly discuss answers that came to mind, with Vernon and others acting more like moderators to keep the excitement level from getting too far out of hand.

Vernon still held regular debates with Christian ministers at BVA, and further discussions of these would sometimes go on for several First Refined services.  To insure that all points were fully explored, Vernon or his father would sometimes play devil’s advocate, so to speak.