A Modern Day Parable

My friend in office forwarded this to me and I thought I would like to share it with you because it strikes a chord in my heart. Here it is...

The Four Wives

There was a rich merchant who had 4 wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most. He adorned her with rich robes and treated her to delicacies. He took great care of her and gave her nothing but the best.

He loved the 3rd wife very much too. He's proud of her and always wants to show her off to his friends. However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away with some other man.

He loved his 2nd wife too. She is very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the merchant's confidante. Whenever the nerchant faced some problems, he always turns to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through difficult times.

Now the merchant's 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and business, as well as taking care of the household. However, the merchant did not love the 1st wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took noice of her.

One day, the merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon. He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, "Now I have 4 wives with me. But when I die, I'll be alone. How lonely I'll be!"

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I am dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word. The answer cut like a knife right through the merchant's heart

The sad merchant then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you so much for all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!", replied the 3rd wife, "life is so good over here! I'm going to remarry when you die!" The merchant's heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I always turned to you for help and you've always helped me out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." The answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devasted.

Then a voice called out, "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The merchant looked up and there was his 1st wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have!"

Actually we all have 4 wives in our lives.

The 4th wife is our BODY. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

The 3rd wife is our POSSESSIONS, STATUS and WEALTH. When we die, they all go to others.

The 2nd wife is our FAMILY and FRIENDS. No matter how close they are or how much they hav been there for us when we are alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

The 1st wife is our SOUL. It is often neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and sensual pleasure. It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go. Perchaps it would be a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until we are on our deathbed and lament.

Ok. this "parable" probably has loopholes but the point I want to make here is what are you going to do to IMPROVE the condition of your soul? The little story didn't exactly give us any idea how we can "cultivate and strengthen" our soul. So HOW?

One thing I know is that the condition my soul is indeed in a very sorry state ["For all have sinned; all fall short of the glory of God" ~ Romans 3:23] and it is doomed to an eternity of death ["For the wages of sin is death" ~ Romans 6:23]. BUT, thank God there is a way to turn the situation around ["He (Jesus) died once for the sins of all of us guilty sinners, although He Himself was innocent of any sin at any time, that He might bring us safely home to God" ~ 1 Peter 3:18]. To get out of my miry situation, all I needed to do is just simple believe and receive my "get out of jail free" card ["To all who received Him, He gave the right to become children of God. All they had to do was to trust Him to save them" ~ John 1:12] And I am glad I did because my life since then has been filled with peace, joy, contentment and (very importantly) purpose. Oh of course there are many many times where I struggled (and still do) and life just seems to be filled with trials and difficulties. But with God, facing each testing moment is more bearable and I know that I will come out into the bright light victorious after my struggles in the dark tunnel of anguish and pain.

At the end of the day, what steps we make to enrich our souls IS a personal thing. And it WILL be a personal thing. Like the dying man, our material possessions and our family and friends can't go with us when we face Death. But Jesus can. He went to hell and back because of us and for us and that's why I know Death will not have a grip on my soul ;o)

So, how is it with YOUR soul today, my friend? Don't wait till it's too late to do anything.

(Jesus said) "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
~ Revelations 3:20