I’m going to remind you, John. You are not important.
His dad’s voice again. Not nearly as loud this time.
John uncovered his ears and opened his eyes.
He was alone in the world that had lost its color.
There was no sign of the dragon. Or his dad. Or the dragon’s soldiers.
“Jesus, I hear it again.” John turned, but Jesus and the others had disappeared again, just like they had done by the sea.
He had to remember what had just happened. Yes, he had witnessed another miracle as he watched the royal official beg Jesus for mercy to heal his dying son. Then he watched the same broken rich man take Jesus at His word and ride off out of Cana.
For a minute he thought about his own dad. Would he go so far out of the way to get help for John if John was really sick? That made him think about having to return home after spending the summer with his sister.
John let fear of having to deal with his dad take over. That’s when he heard the voice again.
You should be ashamed of yourself.
How could his dad get to him out here in this other land?
Then John noticed a bizarre thing. There were all these people—men, boys, girls—who suddenly appeared all over the place. Some stood in big groups, others sat in pairs, all over the prairie for as far as he could see. As John navigated the masses, he knew these were fathers with their kids. Everyone was smiling and happy. Laughing. Hugging.
Hi, John. See how these dads love their children? This is how it’s supposed to be. Too bad for you. This is something you’re never going to experience.
John spun around, still expecting his father to be there with that sarcastic look on his face. It was the one that John got every time something didn’t go right in the Le house. If John forgot to fill the dog’s dishes with food and water in the evening, the next morning would bring his dad’s index finger pointed at his son’s face and the look of closed lips, wide eyes, and shaking head. The expression that said, “I can’t believe how less-than-everyone-else you are.”
John tried to focus on the here and now. The hundreds of people all over were still enjoying each other’s company. He started catching snippets of the conversations and heard a lot of people saying, “I love you.” In return, John also heard “I love you so much.” The dads and their kids held hands, looking at each other with compassion.
“Have you seen Jesus?” John asked a young man who stood nearby.
The young man acted like John wasn’t there. The guy never looked his way.
John asked again, “Have you seen Jesus walk by here?” The man ignored John.
John walked on to another man and his children. They were sitting on the grass.
“Excuse me. Have you guys seen Jesus?”
The man’s daughter looked up and gave John an ugly look.
The man did the same.
Neither one of them said a word to John.
John spent a long time trying to find Jesus in the crowd but came up empty. Not one person said a word to him, and most never looked at him. He felt invisible and unwanted.
You aren’t loved by your dad.
John froze. In front of him, no more than twenty feet away, was a huge dark snake. The body had to be at least fifteen feet long, and it was colored olive green with black splotches all down the length of it. Neon-green eyes were set closer to the top of its head.
John, I know you can hear me.
First the dragon, and now the snake.
Look at how happy all these children and their fathers are, and not one of them has said a word to you. You don’t matter to them either.
John started walking away from the snake, but the slithering serpent caught up with him and crawled over the ground only feet away. John would be killed if the snake attacked. It was like one of those anacondas he’d seen on the science channel.
John, you are wasting time.
“Leave me alone,” John told the snake. John switched directions, hoping to get far away from it.
The reptile’s long tongue flicked the air in front of its big, blocky head. It also switched its course, no doubt so it could stay close.
John kept an eye out for Jesus, but he couldn’t find Him anywhere.
The crowds of people acted like they couldn’t see the massive snake.
I’m never leaving you alone. Ever.
John figured the snake would have already attacked him if that was the creature’s ultimate desire. Since John was still alive, he decided to test his theory.
John ran through the crowd and found a man with his children who were sitting on brightly colored blankets. The children were all different ages and sizes. He sat down in the middle of the group and waited for the snake to come.
John tried thinking about how he was back in the time of the Bible stories. But he kept getting distracted by the snake. It was closer now. So close, yet none of the people around John seemed to notice. They were all lost in each other … smiling, talking, laughing.
John, they are important to each other. Too bad you don’t know what that feels like.
When the snake made its way to where he was sitting, John asked, “Why are you following me?”
I told you, John. You need a reminder that you don’t matter to your father. But you matter to me.
Something wasn’t right. John heard words he wanted to hear from his father—words that sounded good—but something didn’t feel right.
The people that were sitting around John got up and walked away from him. In fact, all the groups that were anywhere close by did the same.
Only one girl in the crowd stopped and looked at John. She seemed to be close in age to him. “You should leave.”
See, they all ignored you, and then the one who actually said something told you to get out.
“I am not going to listen to you.”
You’re not important to anyone else. No one else cares about you.
The snake kept its distance.
“Jesus, if You’re here, please help me!”
John, you don’t matter to Jesus.
“Jesus, I need You!”
The snake recoiled. Its massive form was slow to retreat.
Come on. You don’t think Jesus is going to help, do you?
“JESUS!”
At that exact second, the snake exploded into a million tiny particles and blew away on the wind.
John fell to his knees. He slammed both hands on the ground in front of him.
Finally, he let the tears come that had been building up like water held behind a dam.