Legend of Book and Vine

"Legend of the Book and the Vine"

                            by  Janet Baird Weisiger   c2002

Once upon a time a man and his wife lived in an old stone house by a sparkling blue lake.  Every day the man and his wife climbed the long stairway to the flat roof of their house and looked out on the lake and the land and the villages surrounding their house.

 It was very beautiful.  The trees grew tall and shaded the old house from the hot summer sunshine.  The lake rippled and danced with fish and waterfowl.  The puffy white clouds skidded across the sky creating shapes of happy things.

            Wonderful animals lived in the thick woods surrounding the house.  Wild turkeys and fox wandered in the brush and sometimes a big fluffy black bear ate the berries at the edge of the forest.  In the cool evenings the deer with their new fawns silently crept to the shore of the lake for a sip of clear water.

            At night, the man and his wife loved to lie on the flat roof of their old stone house and try to count the twinkling stars that crowned the sky.   They marveled at the northern lights cascading across the heavens like a shimmering curtain.  They enjoyed the luminous glow of the full moon as it shone across the hills and valley.

            The man and his wife were very happy.  They laughed and played in their flower gardens heavy with the perfume of roses and lilies.  They splashed and swam in the deep blue water.  They let the hot sun dry their strong young bodies as they stretched out on the sandy beach.

            Truly they were very content. 

There was however one question they asked themselves every day but could never answer. 

Sometimes the man would pose the question first as he woke with the dawn and breathed in the sweet morning air.  And usually it was the last thought of the woman at night as she closed her eyes and welcomed rest in her safe comfortable bed.  Every day the man and the woman asked the same question.  Their eagerness to find an answer to the question grew with each passing day.

            “Who created this wonderful world?” 

            That was the question.  No matter how hard they thought about it they just could not find the answer.  The man knew he had not made the world.  And the woman knew she had not made the world.  But to themselves they wished they had made everything because then they would know whom to thank.  Yes, they were content …except for that one important question.

Then one day as the man and his wife surveyed their land from the high roof of their old stone house, they saw a cloud of dust moving toward them along the gravel road.

            “We have a visitor!”  the man cried.  “Look, someone is coming this way.”

            “Yes, you’re right.”  The woman pointed.  “Someone is riding on a bicycle.”

            “How the bicycle gleams in the sunshine.  It looks as if it is made of pure gold!” The man stared.

            The man and the woman ran down the long stairs and opened the front door of their house. 

            “Oh my!” said the woman.

            “W..w..w..who are you?” stammered the man.

            The visitor smiled.  He was dressed in a long golden robe that shimmered as he moved.  He propped his golden bicycle by the door and offered them a neatly wrapped package. 

The man and the woman blinked their eyes at the very radiance of the visitor’s face.  They had never seen anyone like this before. 

            Finally, the woman poked the man with her elbow.  “He wants to give us something,” she whispered.  

The man stretched forth his hand and accepted the package.

Without a word, the visitor hopped back on his golden bicycle and wheeled down the long, dusty road.

Immediately the man realized the package held something warm and heavy.  He opened the outer wrapping and to his amazement, discovered a golden book.  The woman touched the book with tentative fingers, comforted by its warmth.  The man admired the smooth heavy cover and the thickness of many pages.

They stared at the front of the book, for there, boldly emblazoned in heavy gold lettering, even brighter gold than the book itself, were the words,

“BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS”

“Book of Instructions!  Did you order something that I don’t know about?”  The man challenged the woman.

“Of course not,” the woman responded.  “Let’s read it and see what the instructions say.”

The man opened the book and turned to the first page.

“Genesis chapter one.  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” he read.

The man and his wife looked at each other.  They laughed.  Their eyes sparkled as they shouted,  “This is the answer to our question!  Now we know who made everything!”

They joined hands and danced in a circle.  “Hurray, we have the answer to our question.  We know who to thank for our wonderful world.”

“But wait a minute.  Who is ‘God’ and how do we thank him?”  The woman stopped dancing and stared at the man.

           “Let’s sit down and read the golden “ BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS”.  Maybe it has all the answers we’ve been looking for,” said the man.

The man and the woman started reading.  They read all night.  And they even read the next day.  They did not stop to eat or to sleep.  They just read and they read the golden “ BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS”.

When they finally came to the last page they were silent for a long time. 

Then the man said, “There is something we must do.”

“Yes, let’s do it right away.”  And the woman knelt beside the man.

And they each prayed. 

“Dear God, thank you for telling us all about You.  At last we know who made this wonderful world. We also know about sin that separates us from You.  We come to You asking You to forgive each of us, for we know now that we are sinners.

You love us so much You sent a Savior to us.  His name is Jesus, and by believing in Him we are forever Yours.  Thank you God, for our Redeemer. 

            We give You thanks for all that we are, for all that we have and for all that will be.  Amen.”

The man and his wife knelt quietly.  Then gently, the tears flowed down their faces as they believed in Jesus and received His forgiveness and renewal in a blessed, holy light.  Their hands reached out to each other, as together they experienced the gracious saving love of God, their Creator, and Redeemer.

They knelt there for a long time, then clinging to each other, they slowly climbed the long steps to their rooftop and there they sang and praised and thanked God for all His wonderful creation.

            It came to pass that a sweet little daughter was born to the man and his wife.  And the little girl was beautiful with long dark hair, deep brown eyes and a bright laughing smile.  The man and the woman loved their little girl.

            Every morning and every evening the man and the woman read to the little girl from the golden book.  The pages soon looked worn, but no matter how often the book was opened, the “BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS” never lost its pure golden luster.  The letters on the front cover still shone with an intense light and the book itself always felt warm to the touch.

            The little girl heard all about God and His creation.  She heard the stories of God’s amazing people and how they prepared for the coming of the Messiah.  She also came to love the stories of Jesus.  She heard of God’s love in sending His Son and she heard about God's promises to those who believe in Him.

 By the time she was five years old she knew all the parables of Jesus and surprised her Mama and Papa one day by telling them the story of the Prodigal Son.

            The man and the woman were so proud of their beautiful daughter and said to each other,

            “Truly, God has touched her heart.”

            When the little girl was eight years old she prayed a special prayer to Jesus.

            “Thank you for loving me, Jesus.  I want you to come into my heart.  Please forgive me when I do naughty things.  You have told me in Your Book of Instructions that You will forgive me.  I want You as My Savior so I will live with You forever. Amen.”

            The man and the woman and the little girl stood on their rooftop and sang songs of praises to God.  They loved their little girl very much and rejoiced that she also believed in Jesus.

            Soon the little girl became a young woman.  One day she met a handsome stranger with blue eyes who told her he loved her and wanted to marry her.  She glowed with the promise of true love.

The man and the woman smiled as the young couple wed in a lovely ceremony by the lake.  They had a feast and invited the entire village.

            After the celebration, the young woman and her husband went to live far away on the top of a high mountain.  Every day they could look out of their window and see the sun rise.  It was a glorious sight and they woke early each day to see the lovely colors of the dawn. 

            At first the young woman and her husband often traveled the long distance to see her Mama and Papa in their old stone house by the lake.  But soon the young woman and her husband became very busy and did not visit as often. 

And the young woman did not remember the golden “ BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS”.

            One morning as the young woman and her husband looked out their window at the pink sunrise, they noticed a vine growing close to their window. 

            “Those leaves are so rich and green.  It makes an ideal frame for our window,” the young woman remarked.

            The next morning, dark clouds hid the sunrise and the young woman thought she saw a strange creature in the vine.  But she was filled with thoughts of love with her husband, so she paid no attention.

            The following Sunday, the sun shone clear and bright as the young woman and her husband smiled at the sunrise.  And the young woman suddenly had a thought.

            “It’s such a lovely day.  Let’s not bother to go to church today.  Let’s take a walk instead.  I’m sure God is in the woods.  And we can worship him there.”

At that moment, the hidden creature in the vine smiled. 

            The next Sunday, the rain soaked the vine and its leaves, the thunder roared and the lightening lit the window of the house on top of the mountain.  The creature hovered in the vine.

            “Oh, let’s not go to church today.  Besides, don’t you think the pastor is boring?”  The young woman yawned.

            And the creature smiled.

            Weeks and months went by.  The vine grew high, its leaves thick and heavy, and encircled the entire window.  Lurking inside the vine, the creature smiled and waited.

           

            The young woman and her husband slept late every day and never woke until past noon.  Since the vine covered their window they could not see the sunrise.  All they did was sleep during the day and roam their house at night.

            And the creature grinned.

            Meanwhile far away, the man and the woman became very sad.  It had been so long since they had heard from their beautiful daughter.  Why did she not come to visit? 

            They began to pray every morning and every evening for their daughter.  They prayed that she would come home to them soon so that they could read the golden “BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS” and climb the long steps to the rooftop to sing praises to the God of Creation and His Son Jesus Christ.

            Finally one day, the man and the woman decided to write a long letter to their daughter.  In the letter they reminded her of the golden book and things of God.

            Several months later a short letter arrived from their daughter.  The man and the woman eagerly tore open the letter.  Was she coming to visit?  Was she coming to hear them read from the golden book?  Would she tell them wonderful things about God?

            They read,

“ Mama and Papa, I am very busy with my new husband.  We have found better things to do than waste our time with church.  You may come to visit us at any time.  We can probably find a room for you someplace.”   From, your daughter.

            The man and the woman wept.  Had they lost their beautiful daughter? 

            Since the man and the woman were now getting old, they could not make the journey to the house on the tall mountain. 

            They prayed more earnestly.

            “Dear God, You know how much we love our daughter.  We want to see her again, if not in this life, then we want to see her with us in Paradise. 

But if she has turned against You, has no time for You, does not respect You, then how will she know You when her life comes to an end?

Please, dear Jesus, we cannot force her to come home to read the golden book.  So, Jesus, we give her up to You.  You know she loved You once.  Please bring her back to Your loving arms.  Then we will all be together forever in Paradise.”

            Not long after, the man and his wife, who were now quite old, died.  They breathed their last breaths together, holding hands, as they lay side by side on their rooftop gazing at the magnificent star-filled heavens. 

            Far away in their house on the high mountain, the young woman and her husband forgot all about the sunrise.  The monstrous vine towered over their house blocking the beautiful colors of the dawn.

The creature lived in the vine on soft green leafy cushions and several times a day cackled scornful noises at the young woman and her husband.

            The once bright house was gloomy and dark.  Candles had to be lit most times of the day so the young woman and her husband could move about the rooms without bumping into their many possessions.  The house had become filled with all sorts of toys and stuff.  The young woman, who at one time kept her rooms immaculate, now disregarded housework, since she could not see the dirt and debris anyway. 

She had forgotten all about the wonderful truths she had read with her Mama and Papa from the golden “BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS”.  She thought only of herself and her things and more things.

Her husband sat in his soft deep chair constantly watching for little black spiders that scurried about in the dark.  He would swat them and laugh.  There were piles of dead black spiders all around his soft deep chair but he didn’t care.  The more he swatted the more he laughed.

            Even though they could barely see out the window, one morning the young woman and her husband stood peering through the vine.  They saw a visitor coming up the long hill to their house and to their astonishment the visitor was riding what looked like a golden bicycle.  The sunlight reflected off the bicycle with such intensity that even though the thick vine shaded them, the young woman and her husband had to blink their eyes.

            At the sight of the visitor, the creature in the vine moaned a loud painful groan.

            “Who is that?  And what was that strange noise,” the young woman shrieked.  She had long ago lost her sweet voice.

            Before her husband could respond, the young woman flung open the door.

            There stood a man in a shimmering golden robe.  He smiled and offered them a package.

            The young woman grabbed the package.  It was warm and heavy.  Ripping open the covering, she found a golden book.  And on the front of the golden book, in heavy gold lettering, were the words,

 “BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS”.

             “What do I want with a stupid book?”  She shrieked again and threw the book on the floor.

             Immediately the young woman felt an overwhelming sense of guilt as the visitor’s eyes boldly met hers.  She stood staring up at this strange visitor as a new, yet familiar, warmth flowed through her.  After a moment she realized he held out a letter for her. 

She hesitated, then grabbed the envelope, ripped it open and read,

            “Our dear daughter,

When you receive this precious golden book, you will know that we have died.  We waited for you to come home so that we could read the golden book together again and climb the stairs to the rooftop and sing praises to God.  But you were always too busy.

We want you to know that we never stopped loving you.  We left you in the hands of Jesus trusting that in His time and in His way, you will return into His waiting arms.

When you receive this book, we pray that you and your husband will read it together so that you will learn anew all God’s instructions for you.  God loves you like a Father.

 Remember the story of the Prodigal Son that you memorized when you were five years old?  Well, you are our long lost daughter who has been saved and now is come home.  We trust God and believe that will happen.

                                                Your loving Mama and Papa”

            “They are dead and they didn’t send me stuff?”  The young woman screamed and slammed the door.

  “And they didn’t send you toys?”  She screamed again at her husband.

            The creature in the vine stopped his awful moaning and smiled. 

 But just as the visitor turned to leave the house on top of the high mountain, he paused and looked up at the creature lurking in the vine.  Suddenly, the visitor drew out a hidden sword from under his shimmering robe.  With a mighty slash he cut the vine off at its root.  The creature cried out hideous sounds as it clung to the falling branches.

            A few days later, the young woman began to weep.  “I do miss Mama and Papa.  Oh, how I wish I could see them again.”

            Each day the weeping continued as she thought about her Mama and Papa.

            One morning, the young woman and her husband awoke early and looked out their window.  They were surprised at the brightness of the dawn. 

“What a beautiful morning,” she said in a sweet almost musical voice.  “And look, that thick dark vine is wilting and falling down!”

 The creature slipped far from her view.

As the young woman turned from the window, a tiny ray of early morning light darted across the room and reflected off something in the corner.  It was the golden “BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS”.  The light danced over the golden letters. 

For an instant, the young woman saw Mama and Papa reading to her when she was just a little girl.  She began weeping again and picked up the book. 

            It was then she remembered things about God, so she opened the golden book and read.

            “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness;…

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me….

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”

(Psalm 51 selected verses)

            She kept reading.

            “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’………..

But the father said to his servants, ….let us eat and be merry, for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”  John 15 selected verses

            The young woman remembered the Parable of the Prodigal Son and wept.  She continued to read.

            “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

            “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”  John 14:2

And on and on she read.  She read aloud to her husband and the two of them together read the golden book.  They read all night and into the next day.

Finally when they had read the last word on the last page, they gently held hands, knelt together and prayed.

            “Lord, I am a sinner.  Oh, Lord, can You forgive me?  I had forgotten all about the great love Mama and Papa had for me and through them I now know the limitless love You have for me.  Please take me back into your arms.  I so want to see Mama and Papa again.  I know that with Jesus we will all be reunited again at last in Paradise.”

            After the young woman and her husband prayed for forgiveness they both began to cry.  The selfishness and self-centeredness flowed out of them.  All at once they felt renewed and experienced the joy of God’s redeeming love cleansing them. 

They straightened and stood by the window.  Another dawn had just begun.  The heavens glowed in soft rose pastels and suddenly the first dazzling rays of golden sunlight stretched over the horizon. 

            In the fresh morning light they quickly realized the oppressive green vine had disappeared.  They leaned out the window and laughed.  There on the ground far beneath them lay a pile of rotted leaves and brown mulch just right for laying on the garden beds.

            Hand in hand, holding the golden “BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS” close to her heart, the young woman and her husband opened the door, and together greeted their first new day filled with God’s amazing love.