12/18/01

The Crusader

Written by: Anonymous

(Thank-you for your contribution)

There lived a man during the crusades. When he was a boy his father followed his king to wage war in Jerusalem in order to win the City of God for the Christians. The boy understood only that his father went to be a hero for God...at least that's what he was told. While his father was away at war he learned from the priests and his countrymen about God, Christ, and the war that was being waged in the holy land. In a few years he reached the age of manhood. By that time he began to say, "My father is a great man indeed to fight and kill the heathens and to drive them from the holy city and the promised land." On that day a soldier, a crusader came to his home. This old crusader approached him slowly for he had a limp. He also had his father's sword in his hands. He said to the young man, "Your father gave his life in a holy war. He died at the hands of the heathens cursing them to hell. He was a true soldier and he saved my life. He followed his king without question and I'm sure that his riches in the Kingdom of Heaven are great."

That being said, the old crusader gave the young man his father's sword and limped off to greet his family for he had just arrived home and came first to the young man who's father he been killed.

He took his fathers sword and become a crusader. He gathered all his friends and brethren and through the conviction of his beliefs he convinced many to go with him and join the king's army and to become crusaders. He said, "From this day on I am a crusader. I will destroy the heathens and win the promised land for the faithful."

Shortly after, he found himself in the desert fighting and killing. He proved himself to be a great warrior. Many men followed him into battle and even the king him self made him a knight and leader of many men. He prayed every night to the Lord for the strength and courage to drive his enemies from the promised land. He thrust ever deeper into the country of the heathens. He killed so many of them that the heathens called him the devil and feared his name. The Crusader spilled blood where ever he went crying, "For God and country!" Every night he prayed to Christ for his blessings in battle and ministered to his men when they were low in spirit. He prayed to God to forgive his sins and to make his enemies into his footstool. There came a day when all the men who followed him said, "Great IS the Crusader in the eyes of God. No heathen can defeat him and he WILL take us to the holy city." The Crusader would say in his heart, "Great will be my treasures in Heaven for my Lord has made me into a sword. I am the wrath of God and no man can stand against me."

One day he stood in the middle of the desert with his army. In every direction he saw the heathen armies so that he and his men had no where to go. He was warned not to push so deep into the land held by the heathens but he thought that the no man could stand before the wrath of God. His men trembled and began to falter as the heathens, with one thunderous voice, unleashed their battle cries and closed in on them. The Crusader killed many men but every time he accounted for his surroundings their were less of his men and more of the heathens. The blood of his enemies covered his failing armor and he fought until he saw only his enemies. All his men were dead and he stood knee deep in the bodies of the men he'd slain. His arms felt like lead and he could no longer move his legs. He could no longer pick up his sword or even raise his head. He fell to his knees, exhausted and paralyzed at the thought of losing all his men and failing to reach Jerusalem. The heathens took his sword from him as if he were an infant and broke it with great joy.

They took his armor and spit in his face. All he wore was his tattered clothes still soaked in the blood of the men he killed...all but naked. He was led in chains through the villages of the heathens and day and night he was beaten, tortured, and cursed in their heathen tongues. After sitting in the darkness for a long time he thought much about what had happened. He was confused about being defeated. How could he lose if he was truly the wrath of God? In the darkness, laying in his own filth in a cell far from his home, he could make little sense of his predicament. In his heart he said, "Lord, forgive your servant. I have failed you and I don't know how, or when, or why."

He was dragged from his cell and made to kneel before a gathering. A man with a great sword stood before him. Nothing could be said of this man who was no doubt his executioner except that for the first time, he saw a heathen as a man. His clothes were not soaked in blood, like his own. His skin was not black with dirt and filth, like his own. He was clean and young and strong with a look of righteous pity in his eyes. Unlike the executioners in his country, this one wore no hood.

The executioner took a silk cloth, dipped it in water, and tenderly wiped the crusader's face. There was no hate in the heathen's eyes and this shocked the Crusader beyond words. The heathen spoke to him in the Crusader's language.

"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet."

With that the man raised his sword and beheaded the Crusader.

On the day of judgement the crusader stood before Christ. He noticed that he stood before his Lord alone and still in the clothes that he died in...soaked in the blood of the heathens. He fell at Christ's feet weeping and saying, "Lord, accept your wretched servant into your kingdom."

Jesus said to the crusader, "Rise and walk with me."

The Crusader rose and as he did he noticed that his clothes were no longer tattered but that he was now dressed in pure white. As the Crusader followed Christ they came upon a great wall. He could not see the ends of it for its height and breadth. In this wall was a giant gate made of a single enormous pearl and it was open. They entered into the city and as they did the Crusader said, "Thank you Lord for forgiving my sins. Show my treasures and kingdoms for I have served you well."

Christ led him down a golden street and stopped next to another great wall. At the base of this wall was a beggars bowl and a dog. The Crusader asked, "What is this place Lord?"

Christ answered, "This is your home in my Kingdom."

The Crusader asked, "Lord. I've served you my whole life. I brought many men to fight in your war and killed many in your name and in the name of righteousness. I sent my own brother to their deaths fighting for your cause. Why would you treat me so?"

The Lord replied, "You called me Lord and asked for forgiveness. For this you are a saint and have gained a place in the Kingdom of Heaven. Tell me Crusader, when did you love your brother? When did you feed the hungry? When did you cloth the naked? When did you suffer in My name? When did you bring peace? When did you suffer for my name's sake?"

As Christ spoke the Crusader's life flashed before him. As the Lord asked him these questions he saw himself killing the Muslims, taking their food to feed his armies, taking their clothes to disguise his troops, torturing them in the name of Jesus, and making war on their people.

After asking the Crusader these things Christ said, "These things ought you to have done to store treasure in My Kingdom. You were the first among men and THAT was the only reward you sought and thus is the only reward you were given. Among men you were great but in My Kingdom you are as one saved, pulled from a burning house and left with nothing but life."

As the (Crusader) realized the depth of his sins he began to shed tears but Christ would not allow it. He wiped them all away and kissed him gently on the cheek. The Lord told him, "Do not cry Crusader for in My Kingdom not even the beggars go hungry. Every tear you shed I will wipe away. You will never be cold or sick or lonely. By day you will travel the streets of the Holy City and gardens of My Kingdom. Everyday a new saint will walk with you and keep you company. One day it will be Moses, another Abraham, another Paul who was Saul, another Adam. You will be invited to their palaces and fed and given a place to rest. You will shed no more tears for I will be here to comfort you."

For the first time and forever more the Crusader knew the peace, love, and mercy of his Lord.