Round 4
The Minister: “Well, what have you got to hit me with this time?”The Crackerhead: “Be assured that everyone who reaches their own age of accountability must be born-again [John 3:3].”
The Minister: “What does that have anything to do with this?”
The Crackerhead: “Acceptance of what we have been allowed and enabled to know and understand about our Heavenly Father’s active participation in our daily lives is one of the main things to truly being born-again in His only-begotten Son [John 3:5-8].”
The Minister: “That’s convenient.”
The Crackerhead: “If the whole reason for our existence is to have fellowship with our Heavenly Father, would He not want to start a relationship with us as soon as possible [Genesis 4:6-7]?”
The Minister: “Faith based upon thoughts and feelings is surely built upon shifting sands [Matthew 7:26-27]!”
The Crackerhead: “It would all depend upon how it is supported [1 Corinthians 3:11], and in my case, it has been reinforced to the max [Matthew 7:24-25].”
The Minister: “Well, isn’t that special.”
The Crackerhead: “It is. For it has been through my experiences that I have come to know and understand that what it means to hide His Word in my heart [Psalms 119:11] is to thankfully embrace the presence of His Holy Spirit within me [2 Corinthians 1:21-22].”
The Minister: “Good for you.”
The Crackerhead: “It has also been through my experiences that I have come to know and understand that what it means to be constantly in prayer [1 Thessalonians 5:17] is to be in constant contact with our Heavenly Father [John 14:16].”
The Minister: “Woo hoo.”
The Crackerhead: “Nonetheless, let it be widely known and well understood that it is not the same for everyone. For it all depends upon what our Heavenly Father wants to accomplish in and through someone that determines when, and to what extent, He will allow and enable them to become ever more increasingly aware of just how near He truly is to us all [Colossians 4:12].”
The Minister: “I just knew that there had to be a catch somewhere.”
The Crackerhead: “Case in point.”
The Minister: “What?”
The Crackerhead: “How would you know something like that if it was not for our Heavenly Father’s Holy Spirit?”
The Minister: “Cute.”
The Crackerhead: “No, I am being serious. For that is how it works most of the time.”
The Minister: “We’re incapable of just thinking of stuff on our own?”
The Crackerhead: “Not necessarily, but that would be missing the point.”
The Minister: “What is the point?”
The Crackerhead: “Where we want the line drawn.”
The Minister: “What line?”
The Crackerhead: “The line between where our Heavenly Father begins and we end [Proverbs 3:5-6].”
The Minister: “Yeah, like we would really have any say in the matter.”
The Crackerhead: “No, not really, but in regards to perception, we do have some. For our Heavenly Father will do as He pleases [Isaiah 46:8-10], and is this not as it should be? After all, does He not have the right to do with what He has created for His own good pleasure as He likes [Romans 9:21]? More importantly, should this be of any concern to us [Isaiah 45:9]? Subsequently, it is in this that we do have some say in the matter. For this is what the line is really all about [Proverbs 19:21].”
The Minister: “Are you speaking in tongues again?”
The Crackerhead: “No more than usual.”
The Minister: “It’s making me nauseous.”
The Crackerhead: “Yes, there is much about our Heavenly Father’s absolute truth that can be quite overwhelming—especially when it is so contrary to what we have been so strongly encouraged to believe. Nonetheless, it is actually quite simple in this case. For it all comes down to who we want to trust—ourselves or our Heavenly Father [Psalms 119:105]?”
The Minister: “Couldn’t it be some for both?”
The Crackerhead: “No.”
The Minister: “Why not?”
The Crackerhead: “The more we want to have faith in ourselves, the less we can want to truly have full and complete faith in our Heavenly Father.”
The Minister: “Well, depending on the circumstances…”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that the less we can want to truly have full and complete faith in our Heavenly Father, the more in danger of eternal damnation we become. For it is written: This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord [Jeremiah 17:5 NIV].”
The Minister: “Okay, when you put it like that, it would do us all well to want to truly have full and complete faith in our Heavenly Father.”
The Crackerhead: “One would think, but has it not been widely taught that faith without works is dead?”
The Minister: “It’s Biblical.”
The Crackerhead: “[James 2:17], and the associated passage sure makes it look like there is little to doubt [James 2:14-26].”
The Minister: “Tell me something I don’t know.”
The Crackerhead: “Well, if it is indeed true that all of our good works are like filthy rags [Isaiah 64:6], should it not be made abundantly clear that whatever good we may be involved in is strictly of our Heavenly Father—certainly not of ourselves [2 Corinthians 4:7]?”
The Minister: “Hey, I hear people giving God all of the glory all of the time [Matthew 7:21-23]!”
The Crackerhead: “And yet, are we not strongly encouraged to accept that nothing will get done if we do not do it ourselves, and are not many applauded for their own efforts [2 Timothy 3:5]?”
The Minister: “Don’t we have a part to play?”
The Crackerhead: “Yes, we do, but it is a very, very small one—if any at all.”
The Minister: “What are we supposed to do—sit on our hands and wait for manna to fall from Heaven into our mouths [Psalms 78:23-24]?”
The Crackerhead: “No. For there are lives to be lived [Ecclesiastes 2:24-25], and there is most definitely work to be done [Matthew 9:37-38]. Nonetheless, it would do us all well to want to be thankful for being allowed and enabled to be involved in the doing of good whenever we are allowed and enabled to [Ephesians 2:10].”
The Minister: “My stomach is starting to really churn.”
The Crackerhead: “This is about perception. For instead of honoring someone for their many years of unselfish service to others, it is the good that our Heavenly Father has done in and through them that is what should be celebrated. For the only thing that we can really do that can be considered as being good is to want to do good, and even in that, we would do well to truly give our Heavenly Father full credit for allowing and enabling us to have such an attitude [Philippians 1:6].”
The Minister: “Isn’t that just encouraging irresponsibility?”
The Crackerhead: “Which would you rather be doing—good or bad?”
The Minister: “Good.”
The Crackerhead: “And if good was not being done in and through you, would you not want that to change?”
The Minister: “Yes.”
The Crackerhead: “And if a change did not occur, would you not keep praying for it until it did?”
The Minister: “I suppose.”
The Crackerhead: “You would do well to do so. For this is well-pleasing in our Heavenly Father’s sight [1 Corinthians 12:31].”
The Minister: “So much for the road to Hell being paved with good intentions.”
The Crackerhead: “Hence, one of Satan’s cleverly disguised schemes [2 Corinthians 2:11].”
The Minister: “Yeah, what’s the deal with him?”
The Crackerhead: “He is the devil [Revelation 12:9].”
The Minister: “That much I do understand. What I don’t understand is why he is still around.”
The Crackerhead: “He and his horde of rogue angels, which are also referred to as being demons and devils, are still useful [Luke 22:31].”
The Minister: “In what way?”
The Crackerhead: “In some cases, it is their job to encourage repentance [1 Corinthians 5:5].”
The Minister: “How do they do that?”
The Crackerhead: “By making our sinfulness all the more egregious [John 13:27].”
The Minister: “Is there more?”
The Crackerhead: “Lots, but in most cases, it is their job to help make the kind of love that our Heavenly Father can receive from us all the more satisfying to Him.”
The Minister: “And how do they do that?”
The Crackerhead: “By making it harder for us to give our Heavenly Father the full benefit of our considerable doubts. After all, is it not rather hard to really love someone who does not always protect you from harm—even if the harm is nothing permanent [Matthew 6:13]?”
The Minister: “You make it sound like they are under contract.”
The Crackerhead: “Under full and complete control would be a much more accurate assessment.”
The Minister: “Of our Heavenly Father?”
The Crackerhead: “The One and Only [Job 12:16].”
The Minister: “I suppose the next thing you’ll want me to believe is that there is not a battle going on between the forces of good and evil for the salvation of our souls?”
The Crackerhead: “No, I would not. For there is a battle going on, but it is a much more personal one between belief and disbelief—not warring factions in the way that this sort of thing is generally considered as being in the eyes of this world.”
The Minister: “Don’t they want souls to torment, flesh to devour, and whatever else the devil and his demons may do down there in Hell?”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that Satan and his horde of rogue angels will be too busy being tormented themselves to care about tormenting others [Revelation 20:10].”
The Minister: “Do you have any idea just how ridiculous all of that sounds?”
The Crackerhead: “Not as ridiculous as the alternative. For how could our Heavenly Father not be in full and complete control of the devil and his demons if He truly is all that He actually says that He absolutely is?”
The Minister: “So, was the incident in the Garden of Eden just a farce?”
The Crackerhead: “No, not at all. For Satan really did take the form of a serpent, and he really did trick Eve into eating of the forbidden fruit [Genesis 3:1-6]. It was, however, all by design—certainly not unexpected!”
The Minister: “Unbelievable.”
The Crackerhead: “How could it be otherwise? For if our Heavenly Father is truly all-powerful [Psalms 33:6-9], how could Satan have come anywhere near Eve without being allowed and enabled to, and if our Heavenly Father truly is all-knowing [Psalms 94:11], would He not have known all about Satan’s treachery long before it happened? Furthermore, there is the matter of our Heavenly Father truly being always-present [Psalms 139:7]. For if this is indeed true, would He not have been actually there when it all came to pass?”
The Minister: “I don’t have the words to express what I’m feeling right now.”
The Crackerhead: “Yes, it all came as quite a shock to me, as well. Hence, the drop of the other shoe.”
The Minister: “What shoe? What drop?”
The Crackerhead: “The remark was made in reference to the expression, waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
The Minister: “What does that have anything to do with any of this?”
The Crackerhead: “Coming into a fuller understanding of the reality of our situation in this world, which is also a large part of what it really means to be truly born-again in Christ. For it cannot be truly accepted that our Heavenly Father is truly in full and complete control of everything without accepting that He is truly in full and complete control of even what we would naturally consider to be the bad stuff.”
The Minister: “I think I may be having an appendicitis.”
The Crackerhead: “You should not be. For it is really very simple.”
The Minister: “Right.”
The Crackerhead: “It has to do with helping to make the kind of love that our Heavenly Father can receive from us all the more satisfying. For it is rather easy to want to love someone who always does what you would like for them to do, but it takes a very special kind of love to want to love someone who is ultimately responsible for all that you consider to be bad about life in this world [Romans 11:32].”
The Minister: “Was Satan created to be the devil?”
The Crackerhead: “No, he was originally created to be a guardian cherub, but then he rebelled [Ezekiel 28:11-17]. It was soon after that he became the devil [Ezekiel 28:18-19].”
The Minister: “Is there any truth to what I’ve heard about him rebelling because of being upset about us?”
The Crackerhead: “Yes, I have also heard as much, and I must admit that it naturally makes a great deal of sense to me. For there he was—the greatest of all angels, and then he found out that he was to be subordinate to those who were to be created vastly inferior to himself and his fellow angels. Nonetheless, I cannot say for sure. For the absolute truth of the matter has not been personally revealed to me by our Heavenly Father.”
The Minister: “I must admit that I would have preferred to have never heard of any of this.”
The Crackerhead: “Alas, such is the essence of faith.”
The Minister: “What about demonic possession?”
The Crackerhead: “Yes, the absolute truth of the matter truly is that there is such a thing as demonic possession, and there are times when it comes relatively close to how it has been depicted by the entertainment industry. For it is written: They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!’ For Jesus had said to him, ‘Come out of this man, you evil spirit!’ Then Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘My name is Legion,’ he replied, ‘for we are many.’ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.’ He gave them permission and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned [Mark 5:1-13 NIV].”
The Minister: “Mental illness is really a form of demonic possession?”
The Crackerhead: “Not necessarily. For it is true that much of it is caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, but even in those cases, there is the matter of what caused the imbalance in the first place to consider.”
The Minister: “Genetics? Environmental factors?”
The Crackerhead: “And what would be the root cause of those things?”
The Minister: “Around and around we go.”
The Crackerhead: “Which attests to the most common kind of demonic possession.”
The Minister: “Which is what?”
The Crackerhead: “A temporary loss of our faculties. Take the plight of Judas Iscariot for an example: Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present [Luke 22:1-6 NIV].”
The Minister: “No, you are not going to blame his treachery on demonic possession!”
The Crackerhead: “Is it not made clear for all with eyes that can see to see?”
The Minister: “But wasn’t it said that it would be better for him if he had not been born [Matthew 26:24-25]?”
The Crackerhead: “Yes, it most definitely was, but that was in reference to his response to what he had done after being restored to his own right-mind—be assured [Matthew 27:3-5]. For unlike the Apostle Peter [John 21:15-19], and the Apostle Paul [1 Timothy 1:12-16], Judas Iscariot refused to accept the amount of grace that was afforded him [Psalms 103:8-14].”
The Minister: “But aren’t the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ given power over the devil and his demons [Luke 9:1]?”
The Crackerhead: “To a certain extent [Acts 19:13-16], but since all power comes from our Heavenly Father [Ephesians 6:10-11], and that it only comes when He wants to accomplish something in and through someone [1 Corinthians 12:11], be assured that our Heavenly Father is our only protection against Satan and his horde of rogue angels [Mark 14:38].”
The Minister: “Methinks that thou art possessed.”
The Crackerhead: “Who is so blind as the one who does not want to see?”
The Minister: “Yeah, someone would have to be blind to miss seeing what you’re shoveling—with it being all glowing in the dark and whatnot. Man, talk about being toxic. This stuff is absolutely radioactive!”
The Crackerhead: “How so?”
The Minister: “Well, for one thing, it detracts from the Message of the Cross.”
The Crackerhead: “If anything, it greatly enhances it. For instead of it just being about paying a price that needed to be paid, the true Message Of The Cross is much more about our Heavenly Father wanting to prove Himself as being absolutely worthy of being loved and trusted by us all [John 3:16].”
The Minister: “If that isn’t adding something to it, I don’t know what could be!”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that what I have been given to say is nothing new. For this is what the Apostle Paul was referring to when he talked about going beyond the elemental things about the Lord Jesus Christ [Hebrews 6:1-3].”
The Minister: “But that just confuses the issue!”
The Crackerhead: “Hardly. For nothing has changed since this was first given: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus [Romans 3:23-26 NAS].”
The Minister: “But it loses so much of its luster.”
The Crackerhead: “Only if you want to keep your eyes closed. For instead of just saying that He loves us enough to die for us—our Heavenly Father went ahead and actually did it by sending a full and equal part of Himself to suffer and die upon that cruel, cruel Roman cross at Calvary [Romans 5:8]!”
The Minister: “But it wasn’t real because He already knew all about the resurrection to take place three days after [Luke 24:6-8]!”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that it was very real for our Heavenly Father. In fact, it was more real than what any of us can even start to naturally comprehend. For the Lord Jesus Christ had to spiritually die in order to truly pay the price for our sins [Hebrews 10:10], which meant being actually separated from our Heavenly Father and His Holy Spirit, and for those few moments, they were all in absolute agony [Matthew 27:45-51].”
The Minister: “Couldn’t He have just waived the fee?”
The Crackerhead: “Yes, but by doing so, our Heavenly Father would have been (in effect) declaring that His Law was not worth upholding [1 Timothy 1:8-11].”
The Minister: “By the way, didn’t Jesus go down into Hell and stay there until the time for His resurrection came to pass?”
The Crackerhead: “No.”
The Minister: “What about what is written in First Peter?”
The Crackerhead: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit; by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water [1 Peter 3:18-20 KJV].”
The Minister: “Yeah, that’s it.”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that what is really being conveyed through that passage is that it was the Lord Jesus Christ who actually preached to the people through Noah during the days leading up to the flood [2 Peter 3:9]. After all, did He not tell the thief on the cross that today he would be with Him in Paradise [Luke 23:39-43], and I cannot imagine anyone confusing Paradise with Hell if they knew anything about it—can you [Matthew 13:40-43]?”
The Minister: “Okay, let’s talk about God’s wrath [Psalms 7:11].”
The Crackerhead: “If we must.”
The Minister: “If what you are saying is correct, then surely it’s feigned—right?”
The Crackerhead: “ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!”
The Minister: “But if even our sins are part of His plan, how could He be all that mad at us?”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that it is only at the unpardonable sin that our Heavenly Father’s wrath is directed [Mark 3:28-30].”
The Minister: “And what is the unpardonable sin?”
The Crackerhead: “Rejection of Him truly being our own Heavenly Father [Mark 8:38], and if you have ever endured the unrelenting torture of having your heart torn asunder by someone you loved more than life itself, you can start to understand just how justified our Heavenly Father’s wrath is.”
The Minister: “Surely He wouldn’t be so petty?”
The Crackerhead: “Obviously, you have never experienced the like.”
The Minister: “As a matter of fact—I have, but then I got over it!”
The Crackerhead: “I still feel the pain of heartbreaks decades old.”
The Minister: “Sounds like a personal problem to me.”
The Crackerhead: “As it is for our Heavenly Father. A very, very personal one—be assured [Isaiah 43:4]. For even in the case of parents who desperately wanted their child, they had no control over just who they got, nor who they would become. Whereas, our Heavenly Father has known everything that there would be to ever know about each and every one of us since before He laid the foundation of this world [Psalms 139:16].”
The Minister: “Isn’t there a difference between parental love and romantic love?”
The Crackerhead: “Yes. For parental love is generally more longsuffering, and romantic love is generally more passionate.”
The Minister: “Aren’t you confusing the two when it comes to what our Heavenly Father feels for us?”
The Crackerhead: “No. For the absolute truth of the matter truly is that we are all created to be our Heavenly Father’s children by faith, but of what true and lasting satisfaction could any of us really be to Him if we did not want to truly be His? Therefore, all who reach their own age of accountability before their time as a part of this world comes to an end are given a choice of whether or not they truly want to be His, and it is in this that the kind of love between us and our Heavenly Father becomes much more romantic in nature.”
The Minister: “Says you!”
The Crackerhead: “Says our Heavenly Father! For He refers to His church as being the bride of Christ [Ephesians 5:31-32], and there is also the message that was delivered through Hosea [Hosea 1:2]—just to name a couple of instances.”
The Minister: “What about those who do not reach their own age of accountability before their time as a part of this world comes to an end?”
The Crackerhead: “Since we are all created to be our Heavenly Father’s children by faith, all who physically die before they reach their own age of accountability will be welcome to spend all of eternity with Him in His Kingdom of Heaven as heirs to all that is His in glory [2 Samuel 12:22-23].”
The Minister: “Then what?”
The Crackerhead: “Since it has not been personally revealed to me to any great extent, I cannot tell you just how it will actually be in our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom of Heaven, but I can tell you that no one will be forced to stay there against their will.”
The Minister: “How could a little baby really make a decision about anything?”
The Crackerhead: “Like I said, I cannot tell you just how it will actually be in our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom of Heaven.”
The Minister: “What about aborted babies? Do they count as having existed?”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that they do.”
The Minister: “So, they will be also welcome to spend all of eternity with our Heavenly Father in His Kingdom of Heaven as heirs to all that is His in glory?”
The Crackerhead: “Very much so.”
The Minister: “Then, are all of the Right To Life supporters full of it for claiming that aborting babies is wasting lives?”
The Crackerhead: “Not necessarily. For an abortion is murder—regardless of the circumstances involved, but it is the ones who see nothing wrong with the practice who are in need of rescuing—not the babies!”
The Minister: “What do you mean?”
The Crackerhead: “Murder is a sin [Exodus 20:13], and all who do not repent of the sins that they are held accountable for will be cast into the Lake of Fire—come Judgment Day [Revelation 21:8]. Whereas, all of those aborted babies will go straight into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father.”
The Minister: “Some would say that they will be permitted to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but they will not be able to be in the very presence of God because of not being baptized into the church.”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that they are considered to be as much our Heavenly Father’s heirs as anyone is.”
The Minister: “Is the Lake of Fire Hell?”
The Crackerhead: “Yes [Revelation 20:14].”
The Minister: “Tell me about it.”
The Crackerhead: “As it is with Heaven, so is it also with Hell. For it has not been personally revealed to me just how it will actually be in either place, but I can tell you that Hell is more terrible than what any of us can even start to naturally comprehend.”
The Minister: “What about Purgatory?”
The Crackerhead: “No such place exists—be assured.”
The Minister: “Many would beg to differ.”
The Crackerhead: “Yes, many have been led to believe that there is such a place, but how could there be? For if we are truly saved by grace through faith, we cannot be saved by works [Romans 11:6]. For the true definition of grace is unmerited favor [Romans 11:5]. Therefore, there would not be any need for such a place as Purgatory to exist. For it is supposed to be a place where the eligible can go to finish what is required of them to gain entrance into our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom of Heaven [Romans 3:20].”
The Minister: “Well, I think that there is more to it than that?”
The Crackerhead: “Regardless of whatever that may be, there is just one thing to consider. For either our Heavenly Father paid the price in full by sending His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our sins or He did not, and woe be it unto us all if He did not. For that would prove Him to be a liar [John 2:2], and that would mean that there would not be any eternal security for any of us—regardless of where we may want to believe we are going after our time as a part of this world comes to an end! After all, who could stop Him from doing whatever He pleases [Job 23:13]?”
The Minister: “That certainly limits our options.”
The Crackerhead: “Hardly. For who in their right-mind would rather go to place like Purgatory for even a little while instead going directly into our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom of Heaven to spend all of eternity with Him as an heir to all that is His in glory?”
The Minister: “Maybe a bad decision here or there was just the result of a big misunderstanding?”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that no one will be able to honestly say that they did not fully understand everything that our Heavenly Father wanted them to, come Judgment Day. For this is something that He will make sure of Himself [Romans 1:18-20].”
The Minister: “So, can it be said that jealousy is at the root of God’s wrath?”
The Crackerhead: “It can. For it is written: Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land [Deuteronomy 6:13-15 NIV].”
The Minister: “Isn’t that a sin?”
The Crackerhead: “Only for us. For our lives are not really our own [Proverbs 20:24].”
The Minister: “I don’t understand.”
The Crackerhead: “The reason why it is sin for us to be jealous, envious or covetous is because we are not entitled to anything. For we are given all that our Heavenly Father wants us to have [Matthew 6:31-34], which is often an abundance far over what we actually need [John 10:10]. Therefore, it is a sin to needlessly want for more [Matthew 6:7-8].”
The Minister: “Does that count for those who are born into abject poverty—with all roads leading out of it blocked, or someone born with some sort of an handicap in a place where that is a death sentence?”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that our Heavenly Father takes the weakness of flesh into account, and He will spend all of eternity pouring out His gratitude upon all who truly wanted to be one of His children by faith, which will more than make-up for any lack of anything experienced during our very short time as a part of this world [Romans 8:18].”
The Minister: “Some lives last longer than others.”
The Crackerhead: “What is even the 969 years of Methuselah [Genesis 5:27] in comparison to the whole of eternity?”
The Minister: “Tell that to someone who has spent years watching their loved ones suffer from unbearable pain and die horrible deaths.”
The Crackerhead: “Such is the essence of faith, and since even the tormented are created to be of our Heavenly Father’s children by faith, we can be confident of the absolute truth of the matter truly being that they will not be given more than they can bear [1 Corinthians 10:13].”
The Minister: “Easy to say.”
The Crackerhead: “And even harder to do.”
The Minister: “What do you know about it?”
The Crackerhead: “Be assured that I am no stranger to suffering [2 Corinthians 12:7].”
The Minister: “Can you really compare whatever you may have experienced with the horror of being the parents of a severely handicapped child, or one who is slowly starving to death?”
The Crackerhead: “No, nor would I dare to. For I have been made well aware of the absolute truth of the matter truly being that suffering is relative, in that what is as nothing to one is a tragedy beyond belief to another. Nonetheless, what I have been enduring has helped to make me much more understanding of the plight of others, including even those who appear to have brought all of their troubles upon themselves [1 Peter 5:6-10].”
The Minister: “The cramping is getting worse.”
The Crackerhead: “Perhaps another break would alleviate some of your suffering?”
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