PAID IN FULL

Your day in court will come one day, so make sure that you have goodrepresentation.

After living a "decent" life my time on earth came to an end. The firstthing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what I thoughtto be a court house. The doors opened and I was instructed to come in andhave a seat by the defense table. As I looked around I saw the "prosecutor," he was a villainous looking gentwho snarled as he stared at me, he definitely was the most evil person Ihave ever seen. I sat down and looked to my left and there sat my lawyer, akind and gentle looking man whose appearance seemed very familiar to me.

The corner door flew open and there appeared the judge in full flowingrobes. He commanded an awesome presence as he moved across the room and Icouldn't take my eyes off of him. As he took his seat behind the bench hesaid "Let us begin." The prosecutor rose and said "My name is Satan and I am here to show you whythis man belongs in hell." He proceeded to tell of lies that I told, thingsthat I stole and in the past when I cheated others. Satan told of otherhorrible perversions that were once in my life and the more he spoke thefurther down in my seat I sank. I was so embarrassed that I couldn't look atanyone, even my own lawyer, as the Devil told of sins that even I hadcompletely forgotten about.

As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I wasequally upset at my representative who sat there silently not offering anyform of defense at all. I know I had been guilty of those things, but I haddone some good in my life -- couldn't that at least equal out part of theharm I've done? Satan finished with a fury and said "This man belongs in hell, he is guiltyof all that I have charged and there is not a person who can proveotherwise. Justice will finally be served this day." When it was his turn, my lawyer first asked if he might approach the bench.The judge allowed this over the strong objection of Satan, and beckoned himto come forward. As he got up and started walking I was able to see him now in his fullsplendor and majesty. Now I realized why he seemed so familiar, this wasJesus representing me, my Lord and my Savior.

He stopped at the bench and softly said to the judge "Hi Dad" and then heturned to address the court. "Satan was correct in saying that this man hadsinned, I won't deny any of these allegations. And yes the wages of sin isdeath and this man deserves to be punished."

Jesus took a deep breath and turned to his Father with stretched arms andproclaimed "However, I died on the cross so that this person might haveeternal life and he has accepted me as his Savior, so he is mine."

My Lord continued with "His name is written in the book of life and no onecan snatch him from me. Satan still does not understand yet, this man isnot to be given justice but rather mercy." As Jesus sat down, He quietlypaused, looked at his Father and replied "There is nothing else that needsto be done, I've done it all."

The Judge lifted his mighty hand and slammed the gavel down and thefollowing words bellowed from his lips -- "This man is free -- the penaltyfor him has already been paid in full. Case dismissed."

As my Lord lead me away I could hear Satan ranting and raving "I won't giveup, I'll win the next one."

I asked Jesus as he gave me my instructions where to go next. "Have youever lost a case?" Christ lovingly smiled and said "Everyone that has cometo me and asked me to represent them has received the same verdict as you .. .

"PAID IN FULL."

-- Author Unknown