Chapter 8: Making Sense of It All

Brother woke up and looked at the clock and was surprised to see thsat it was early evening. He had apparently slept the entire afternoon. Stretching and yawning, Brother wondered where everyone was. The house was far too quiet.

Brother then heard the sound of the garage door going up. Apparently, either Mother or Father had been out and was returning home. Mother walked through the door from the garage into the kitchen, plopping her purse, keys, and notepad on the counter. Brother got off the sofa and walked into the kitchen.

“Hi, Mom, where have you been?” asked Brother rubbing the sleep from his head and eyes.

“I’ve been driving all over town looking for your little brother to no avail,” Mother said wearily.

“Why in the world did you waste your timing doing that?” inquired Brother with an incredulous tone. “We told you last night what happened. Didn’t you believe us?”

“I know what you said, but I just don’t understand it. Nothing makes sense,” Mother replied. There was sadness and resignation in her voice.

“What don’t you understand, my love?” asked Father as he stepped off the stairs and into the kitchen.

“I just don’t understand all this religious mumbo jumbo, but there’s no sign of our son anywhere. I’m at a loss to know what to think or do next,” sighed Mother.

“Well, I can’t say that I have the whole thing figured out either,” Father said. He walked to the kitchen counter and seated himself on a chair. “I had a long talk with Pastor, Seaman, and Warrior this morning. Even though it seems a little crazy right now, it really is the only thing that makes any sense given the facts we actually know.”

“What can I do to help?” asked Brother, looking intently at both of his parents.

“You really, I mean, really believe this stuff, don’t you, Son?” Father asked with a piercing look into Brother’s eyes.

“Yes, I do! Absolutely!” Brother said emphatically. “Look, I know how this sounds! Believe me, it sounded crazy, strange, and unbelievable to me too when I first heard it,” said Brother with compassion in his voice.

He knew his parents were at a crossroads.

“I’m not lying to you. I’d never do that, ever, let alone now with Teenager’s life at stake,” Brother continued.

“Do you have any idea what’s happening to him?” Mother asked with trepidation in her voice.

Brother sensed that his parents were taking baby steps forward, but he needed to tread carefully.

“Yeah, I have a pretty good idea,” Brother replied, “but every person’s experience with the captain and crew of the dark ships is different. If he hasn’t already chosen to give control of his life to the Dark Lord yet, he’s probably sitting in what I call a holding cell. It’s pretty much a small room, like a closet. He won’t have food, water, or access to a bathroom, and I’m sure he’s scared out of his mind. But right now, he’s also being covered in round-the-clock prayer. That’s going to keep him safe for now, but the longer he remains in that holding cell, the worse it will get, and the more likely it is that he will buy into the lies they will feed him. At some point, he will cave in just for the hope of getting out of that room and getting some food and water,” explained Brother.

“What kind of lies?” Father asked.

“I’ve talked with others who, like me, escaped the dark ships; the lies vary depending on what they think they must do to convince a person to turn their life over to the Dark Lord. They try many different passive-aggressive tactics. Sometimes they sugarcoat it, try to get you to believe that you’re doing the right thing, or you’re more enlightened, and so on,” explained Brother. “If that doesn’t work, they switch to scare tactics and intimidation.”

“But if he gives in, the conditions will get worse, won’t they?” Mother asked with tears in her eyes.

“Absolutely! Nothing they say is the truth. The Dark Lord isn’t called the Father of all Lies for no reason! He and his followers don’t usually come right out and tell bald-faced lies; that would usually be too obvious. People would see right through it and reject it. Therefore, they twist the lies, dress them up, and make them look like something else. Some people have said they were told that what they were experiencing was a sort of initiation or a test of loyalty; the lies are endless,” sighed Brother.

“So what can be done? What can we do?” asked Father. “I’m not going to sit around here and do nothing. I am beginning to believe what you and your friends are telling me is true, but surely there’s something more to be done.”

“There is,” replied Brother. “Do you recall what Pastor told you to do? Take the next step? Become a believer in the One True Lord?”

“Yes, yes, I remember all that, but…how…how is that actual concrete help? How does that rescue Teenager?” Father was still perplexed. “Help me make sense of it all.”

“Okay, Dad, I’m glad you asked, but realize this will be a long explanation. You need a lot of background information; you have much to learn; otherwise, nothing will make sense,” Brother said, trying not to sound too excited or pompous. He knew this was his chance to win his parents over.

“Go ahead, Son. I’m listening,” Father replied. Mother nodded her agreement.

Taking a deep breath, Brother began, “Okay, here goes. The Good Book teaches that in the beginning, when everything was first made, there was an order as to how and why the One True Lord made the things that were made. He made some things first, other things second, etc. There was a reason why He created them in that specific order. Each created thing had a function, responsibility, and purpose. They all were interrelated and worked together perfectly. No one thing was greater than another, just different. It goes on to say that the One True Lord looked at everything He created and said it was very good. The last thing the One True Lord created was the first man. The first man was different than the other things that were created, even the animals. The man was created in the image of the One True Lord. None of the other creations bore the image of their Creator. While the other things He created had life, the Good Book says that the One True Lord breathed into the nostrils of the first man to give him life. He didn’t do that to the animals. That means that a part of the One True Lord physically entered directly into the man. Believers refer to this as the One True Lord giving man his soul. Animals don’t have souls; they have life but not souls.” Brother paused to see if his parents were still listening. They both had a quizzical look of interest.

“Go on,” Father replied.

“The One True Lord gave the first man responsibility over all that He created—the land, the animals, all of it,” Brother continued. “He allowed the first man to name all the animals. He gave the man responsibility to care for the garden and the animals. The only thing the One True Lord said wasn’t good about His new creation was when He realized that the first man had no companion, someone of his own kind to relate to, share his life with, and help him. Therefore, the Good Book explains that the One True Lord caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and created the first woman from the man’s rib.”

“Sounds like the first surgery,” Father said with a grin.

“Exactly!” Brother replied. “The woman was, in essence, bone of the man’s bone and flesh of his flesh. That was why the man named this new creation woman—because she came from the man. The One True Lord deliberately created the first woman from the man’s rib as a symbol to the man. The rib is on the man’s side; this was done to visually show the man that the One True Lord made the woman to be his equal. She was to come alongside the man to help him achieve things he couldn’t achieve on his own. She wasn’t made from a bone in his foot to be walked on, nor was she made from a bone in his head to be above the man. Once again, the One True Lord was creating an order, a chain of command, so to speak. Does this make sense so far?” asked Brother. He was trying to gauge their level of interest.

“Yes,” said Father, “but is all this explanation really necessary?”

“Yes, it is, Dad,” Brother replied. “I need you to understand the foundation before we can build on it. I want you to understand everything completely.”

Curiously, Mother didn’t respond and remained silent, but he felt encouraged by her look of interest.

“Okay, Son, continue,” said Father.

“The woman had an equal role and responsibility, but the final, ultimate accountability to the One True Lord rested on the first man since he was created first by the One True Lord and had walked with Him longer than the woman. The man received his guidance from the One True Lord, and the man was responsible for relaying that guidance to the woman, his wife. They both had responsibilities, and neither role was greater than the other. Neither one felt subordinate to the other. Everything worked together in perfect harmony. However, the ultimate responsibility regarding whether things worked as the One True Lord intended fell solely and directly on the man; he would be held ultimately accountable directly to the One True Lord.”

“Okay, I understand what you’re saying, Son,” Father interrupted with a slight tone of exasperation in his voice, “but let’s get on with it. If everything was good then, how did things become so bad? What happened? Doesn’t this One True Lord, as you keep referring to Him, care about what’s happened? Everything is so badly messed up! It sounds like this Lord of yours just took His hands off the steering wheel; either that or He doesn’t care or is powerless to do anything about it.”

“And that’s exactly one of the lies that the enemy, the Dark Lord, wants you to think, Dad,” Brother said, hoping Father would let him continue. “There’s more to the story. I promise it will all make sense when I’m finished. Do you want me to continue? Do you want to know more?”

“I suppose so,” Father said somewhat reluctantly.

“Give me just a little more time, Dad. I promise it will all make sense,” Brother continued.

Mother was still strangely quiet. Father motioned with his hand for Brother to continue.

“The Good Book tells us exactly why and how things got messed up. Do you remember what Pastor explained about the Dark Lord? How before the Dark Lord became the Dark Lord, he was an angel of light? Before he fell, he was the highest of all the angels in heaven. No one in the heavenly places had more power and authority except the One True Lord. Despite all the beauty, power, and authority that was given to him, he became proud and arrogant. He didn’t want to serve the One True Lord; he decided he wanted to be the One True Lord. So he rebelled. The Good Book describes that when this highest-ranking angel of light made that decision, he transformed from an angel of light and became the Dark Lord, the very embodiment of evil. The Dark Lord then formed a rebellion and caused a war in the heavenly places. The Good Book goes on to describe how the Dark Lord convinced approximately one-third of the other angels to rebel with him. The rebels lost the war, and the One True Lord threw them to the earth for the time being. Being evil, they could no longer be in His holy presence. You see, the One True Lord is holy, and He cannot, by nature of His holiness, His very essence if you will, have evil anywhere near Him, so He had to cast the evil out of His presence.”

Brother paused again and looked at his parents. He could see they were intrigued, so Brother kept going.

“Now we come to the explanation of why things are so bad here on earth. The Good Book says that one of the jobs of the first man was to tend or care for the garden. That would have included keeping out anything that was not good or not as the One True Lord intended. The One True Lord wanted the man and woman to serve Him out of love, not like puppets, so he gave them a precious but terrible gift, the gift of free will. That meant the man and woman could decide to choose whether to obey Him or not. So, when the One True Lord cast the Dark Lord out of heaven to the earth, He knew this would be a test for the man and woman. A test to see whether they would choose the good or the evil.”

Brother paused again. Mother’s face appeared to register interest, but there was something different, something Brother couldn’t discern. Father was nodding his head in an understanding way, so Brother felt the Spirit tell him to continue.

“We don’t know all the details, but we do know this—the Dark Lord entered the garden personified as a snake, and not just any snake, a snake who could talk. We don’t have any evidence to indicate whether any other snakes existed or if they did, if any of the other snakes talked. So the fact that this one could talk would make it stand out. The snake represents evil, and evil is now in the perfect garden. Of all the trees that were in the garden, the Good Book specifically identifies two by name. The first tree mentioned is the Tree of Life; the other tree was named the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Good Book goes on to say that the man was instructed by the One True Lord that he could freely eat of the fruit of any tree in the garden except one: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Notice the man was not prohibited from eating from the Tree of Life. The One True Lord told the man that if he ever ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the man would die.”

“Okay,” Father said with a grin on his face. “So what kind of fruit was on these two trees?” Father asked.

Brother smiled, encouraged by the question, “We don’t know. The details aren’t given. It is implied in the Good Book that the first man told the first woman, his wife, about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil based on what happens next. It makes sense that he would since everything was perfect, and the man loved his wife, and it was his job to relay to her what the One True Lord told him. So what happens next is where things start to go wrong.”

Both Mother and Father’s faces still showed interest, so Brother continued.

“The Good Book says that the talking snake, a.k.a. the Dark Lord, was now in the garden and, interestingly, approached the woman, not the man but the woman.” Brother heard his Mother’s gasp of surprise.

“But why? Mother asked incredulously.

“Because the Dark Lord’s a creep, and that’s putting it exceedingly mildly,” Brother said with disgust in his voice. “He’s a worm, a thief, a coward, and a liar. He didn’t have the guts to approach the man who was in direct authority under the One True Lord; he went for the woman.” Anger and frustration were clearly seen in Brother’s face and in his tone of voice.

“What happened next?” Mother’s anxiety and concern were heard in her voice and were evident on her face.

“The talking snake asked the woman several questions in such a way that tested her knowledge of what her husband had told her and tested her commitment to using her free will to continue to serve the One True Lord. The serpent did this by twisting the words of the One True Lord. Here, let me read it to you directly out of the Good Book. I want to be sure I read it word for word so I don’t get it wrong and you don’t miss anything.” Brother reached across the counter and picked up his copy of the Good Book and flipped to chapter 3 of the book of Genesis (NIV).

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He (the serpent) said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made covering for themselves.

Brother stopped reading, closed the book, and looked at his parents. He could tell they were trying to process what they had just heard and trying to digest what they had learned. Brother waited a few more seconds.

“Do you see what happened?” Brother asked quietly.

“Wow!” said Father, “Maybe…at least I think I do, but I’m not sure. There’s a lot to take in,” said Father.

“Why don’t you tell me what you got out of it, and I’ll fill in the blanks?” said Brother. He wanted to see what Father had gotten out of the passage and not assume anything.

“Well,” said Father rather hesitatingly, “it appears that several things happened in that brief period. First, the woman was disobedient and listened to the snake and ate and gave it to her husband. This sort of confirms what I had always believed but had never actually been told; it kind of puts a different spin on it, though.”

“What did you believe before, and how did this passage change things?” asked Brother politely.

“I sort of had an understanding like…well…I’m not exactly sure how I came across it, but a vague sense of woman giving man the forbidden fruit. Everybody’s pretty much generally aware of that term. People make jokes all the time about forbidden fruit. But this story is different. I always assumed that the man wasn’t there when the woman ate the forbidden fruit. I just thought the man was somewhere else in the garden, and his wife just gave him the fruit and, like an idiot, he didn’t ask where it came from and ate it by mistake.” Father was grinning as he said this.

“So now that you’ve heard me read the story in its original form, what do you make of it?” Brother asked.

“It…well…I…well, it appears to me that men don’t get a pass! They can’t blame women. If your Good Book, as you call it, is the truth, then it’s clear the man was there when all this was going down and didn’t do or say anything to stop it. He might have been the second person to eat the forbidden fruit, but he certainly knew what it was and what he was eating!” Father said angrily.

Brother could tell that Father was beginning to understand the information being relayed.

“Exactly,” said Brother. “But, Dad, there’s more to it than just that. Do you want me to explain some of it to you?”

“Yes, yes, I do,” Father replied. “This is the first time I’ve heard anything like this; it’s starting to bring clarity around what I see wrong in the world. Go ahead and let me have all of it. Explain away!”

“Yes,” Mother said, “I want to hear more also.”

Brother looked at Mother and could tell she was a mixture of confusion, interest, and apprehension. Brother knew he needed to speak the truth in love. Father was beginning to understand, but he sensed in his spirit that Mother was still on the fence.

“Bear with me,” Brother replied. “I’ll explain it as best I can. There’s a lot packed in here. Theologians have written books about what happened in this little passage and the ones that follow. I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version as best I can.” Brother picked up his Good Book. Holding it in his hands, he explained, “So here’s what I believe regarding what happened. Please realize I’m no theologian, and I probably won’t have answers to all your questions.”

“That’s okay, Son,” Father said. “Just do your best.”

Brother felt encouraged and began.

“The serpent, who was really the Dark Lord, basically shapeshifted to cover up his true nature. He is, was, and always will be a coward. He refused to approach the man. He chose instead to approach the woman. He challenged her knowledge by asking questions, then twisted the words. Here…” Brother said, pointing to verse one of chapter 3 of Genesis.

“The serpent asked the woman a question, ‘Did God really say?’ By asking this question, the serpent tested what the woman had learned from her husband, but it also began the process of placing a wedge of doubt between the woman and her husband as well as the One True Lord.” Bother paused again and noticed that both parents were still engaged in what he was telling them.

“The One True Lord told the man and woman they could eat of every tree except one and only one. But the serpent’s question twists it by asking if the One True Lord told them you must not eat from any tree in the garden. Notice the twist of words here…every tree is replaced by any tree. This is a typical tactic. Like I said, he won’t tell a bald-faced lie but gives you enough truth to lure you in,” Brother said with boldness.

“Makes sense,” Father replied.

“Okay,” Brother said. “Notice that the woman gives a partially correct response. Verses two and three state her response to the serpent’s question.

“‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden.”’

“Here’s the next problem, the woman adds to what she was told. The instructions given to her were simple and clear, ‘Don’t eat the fruit,’ but the woman’s response includes this addition.

“‘…and you must not touch it, or you will surely die.’

“By adding to the instructions, ‘and you must not touch it,’ she effectively gave the serpent an opportunity to deceive her further, placing another wedge of doubt to further draw her away from the truth.”

“What do you mean?” asked Mother with a hint of anger and frustration in her voice.

Brother sensed Mother’s agitation level was rising. Tread truthfully and carefully, Brother thought to himself.

“This time, the serpent is bold. When the woman says, ‘or you will surely die,’ the serpent’s reply is very bold indeed. He contradicts the word of truth that was given. He says to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.’ This is in direct opposition to the One True Lord’s clear admonition. The serpent deepens the deception by telling the woman that her eyes will be opened, and ‘you will be like God knowing good from evil.’”

“Wow!” said Father. “You’re right. The serpent is getting bolder incrementally.”

“Precisely!” Brother exclaimed.

“No, wait a minute; what are you saying?” asked Mother. “Are you saying the woman was stupid or rebellious or something else?”

“No,” Brother replied. “The woman wasn’t stupid, but she was ‘deceived.’ After being deceived, something else happened, or rather didn’t happen, which now involves the man.”

“What do you mean?” Father asked with anxiety and apprehension in his voice.

Brother could tell that, by their responses, both Mother and Father were beginning to perceive the truth. It was hitting nerves and making them both very uncomfortable.

“Well,” Brother said carefully, “the One True Lord told the man that if he ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he would surely die. The man was standing there with his wife the entire time this deception was going on. The man didn’t correct what his wife said—the part where she added more words to what she had been told. He also didn’t rebuke the serpent and get rid of it. Instead, he did absolutely nothing. Some theologians have speculated that perhaps the man’s curiosity was such that he wanted to see what happened to his wife if she ate the forbidden fruit, to see if she would really be killed.”

“That’s preposterous!” exclaimed Father with an angry tone.

Tears began to flow down Mother’s face. Brother could see she was deeply affected by this last bit of understanding.

“No, Dad, no, it’s not,” Brother said quietly but firmly. “Remember the One True Lord gave the responsibility of caring for all of creation to the man. That included the care of his wife that he had been given. It was his responsibility to care for and protect her, yet he chose not to. We don’t know why. Not only did he not correct her misstatement of the instructions given to him, but he didn’t step in between the serpent and his wife to physically protect her. He didn’t say or do anything to cast the serpent out even though he had that authority. The One True Lord had given him charge over everything He created, including a serpent. Instead, he stood by and watched while his wife was deceived. He stood by and said nothing when his wife was pondering in her heart about whether to listen and heed the serpent’s words. He could have protected her from hearing the lies. He could have told her the instructions again. Instead, he chose to stand by and watch his wife as she picked the fruit and ate it. And, when he saw that she didn’t immediately drop dead, he also made the free-will choice to eat the fruit she gave him. It’s clear that the woman was deceived, but it was the man who rebelliously disobeyed. And when they both disobeyed and ate the forbidden fruit, the man and woman, by their rebellion, caused a shift…a transfer of power. They no longer had complete authority over creation. Through their acts of disobedience, they gave their power to the Dark Lord. Despite their rebellion, the One True Lord proved He still loved the man and woman by casting them out of the garden.”

“How is that a proof of love?” Mother asked with much sarcasm.

“Good question,” Brother replied. “It was love because the man and woman were now in a fallen state. Their nature had changed. They didn’t die physically, at least not right away; they died spiritually. Their sin of rebellion now separated them from the One True Lord, who is holy. Remember I said that the One True Lord, being holy, cannot have anything unholy in His presence,” Brother replied. “Even though they rebelled, the One True Lord still loved them. He knew what would happen and had a plan to save them even before the Dark Lord was cast to earth. He cast the man and woman from the garden to prevent them from also taking the fruit of the Tree of Life, thereby staying in a fallen state forever.”

Brother stopped talking and looked at his dad. He could tell that his dad was struggling with the truth. Brother said a silent prayer to ask the One True Lord to let the truth sink into his dad’s heart and make the change needed, to give him the faith to become a believer. Brother looked at his mother. Tears were streaming down her face, and he could tell that she was deeply distressed by what she heard. There was silence for several minutes. Brother kept praying for both his parents to become believers in the One True Lord; he knew they were at a crossroads of faith.

Father finally spoke. His words were so quiet they were almost inaudible.

“I don’t really like what I’ve heard…hits too close to home, I guess. I get it…I do…but what has all of this got to do with Teenager? How does this help us get him back?”

“The point of this lengthy explanation, Dad,” Brother replied, “is to get you to understand that, as the man of the family and head of this household, you have the authority and responsibility over whatever goes on here. The One True Lord holds you accountable. Not Mom, not me, not Teenager. He holds you responsible, Dad.”

“That not fair!” Father exclaimed with anger. “I have no control over what Teenager, you, or your mother do! How can I be held accountable?”

“Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here. Each of us has free will to choose. We don’t get off the hook and pass the buck to you, Dad; that’s not what I’m saying at all. But recall what the first man was expected to do. He was expected to maintain his relationship with the One True Lord and receive instructions from Him, his marching orders if you will. Under that authority, he was expected to preserve, tend, and protect everything in the domain that the One True Lord put under his control. That included his wife and subsequent offspring. Part of that tending was to tend to their spiritual needs as well as their physical and emotional ones. The first man was responsible for telling his wife what the One True Lord expected. She had accountability to the One True Lord for receiving that information and abiding by it as if the One True Lord had told it to her directly.”

“But wait a minute,” Mother was now chiming in. “That’s not right or fair! Why does the woman have to get the information from the man? Why couldn’t this Lord of yours tell her what He expects of her directly? What if the man didn’t tell her? What if the man gets it wrong? What if the man starts saying he’s heard from this Lord when, in fact, the man is just making things up to push the woman around? What if…”

“Mom!” Brother cut in. “You’re not understanding what I’m saying! All of those are valid points because things like this happen now, after the fall of mankind. It wasn’t like that when the One True Lord first created everything. We’re living in a broken world right now.”

“Well, I don’t care what you say!” Mother replied angrily. “All that stuff you’ve just talked about might work in a perfect-world scenario, but women must live in the real world now, and it doesn’t work like that anymore. I, for one, am not going to be dictated to by some man, not even a man as good as your father.”

Mother grabbed her purse and keys and stormed out the door to the garage. Father and Brother heard Mother’s car start, then the sound of the garage door going up and Mother’s car backing out.

“Well, now you’ve done it,” Father chided.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Brother replied with a sorrowful tone in his voice. “Believe me, I never intended to upset you or mom. I’m sure that once Mom thinks about it, she will have a different perspective. She’s just reacting emotionally.”

“Women tend to do that,” Father replied with an ever so slight grin on his face. Brother tried not to smile too, but it was hard.

“The bottom line to this long explanation is, Dad, in order for things to be set straight in your domain, this family, you’ve got to get yourself into alignment with the One True Lord,” Brother explained. “Once you get that relationship established and straightened out, the One True Lord can more effectively work His purpose in the lives of your family, including Teenager.”

“You’re not telling me that if I turn myself over to your Lord, everything will work out perfectly, are you? Teenager will be saved; Mother will come home and not bite my head off, and we will all live ‘happily ever after,’ are you?” Father said with sarcasm.

“No, Dad, I’m not saying that at all!”

Brother was beginning to despair that Father would have enough understanding and faith to become a believer. “Even though we live in a broken world, the One True Lord still has a hierarchy and structure in place. The man, in this case, you, Dad, is to stand in the gap for his family to protect as well as provide. You’ve done a great job at providing for our physical needs; now, we just need you to learn how to protect and provide spiritually. Teenager has a far better chance of making it out of the dark ship if you can see fit to get yourself under the authority you’re supposed to be under. Teenager is of age and still has his free will intact and, unfortunately, could still make the wrong choice, but he stands a much better chance if we start getting this family lined up under the authority of the One True Lord.”

Brother stopped. He knew he had done and said all he could for now. If he said anything more, he was likely to push Father in the opposite direction. Father sat on the kitchen chair silently for several minutes. Finally, he stood up, placed one hand on Brother’s shoulder, and looked him straight in the eye.

“There’s a lot of truth in what you’ve said, Son, and I know it,” Father said. “Some of it sounds hopeful, and some of it hurts. I guess what they say is true; truth hurts. You’re probably right, and I know I should get myself together…get straight with the One True Lord, as you call him. But I just can’t do it, at least not this very minute. I need a little time.”

“I understand, Dad, and I won’t pressure you or talk your head off anymore. But please, don’t take too long. We don’t know how much longer Teenager can hold out,” Brother softly urged.

“Just give me a little time to digest and process all this. That’s all I’m asking. It won’t take long. In the meantime, will you make sure those church friends of yours keep up praying for Teenager while I’m digesting all of this?” Father asked.

“Done!” Brother replied. “While I’m at it, I’ll ask them to pray for you and Mom as well.”

“Thanks, Son,” Father replied as he walked into his office study and shut the door.

“Dear Lord,” Brother prayed, “please, please help my dad make his choice for You and help him to do it quickly. I’m so concerned about my little brother and what he’s going through. I’m not sure how long he can hold out. Please don’t let him slip into the enemy’s hands. Please give him the strength he needs to endure until we can get this family turned around. And, dear Lord,” Brother continued, “please help my mom. I know a lot of women have problems with the idea that men have the rule and authority that You gave us. Women have a good reason not to trust men. You know where that comes from and how the enemy will try to destroy her by filling her mind with all sorts of negative thoughts. Please provide for and protect my mom. Until Father comes around, please be her shield and comfort and give her Your wisdom and understanding and bring her safely back to us. In Your Son’s name, amen!”

Not knowing what else to do, Brother decided to head to the church to see if Pastor, Warrior, Seaman, or anyone else was around. He needed their help and prayers. Brother grabbed his keys and headed out the door, leaving Father alone in his study to put the pieces together.