Extreme Truth

The godless professor smiled at the photo of Lenin hanging next to the door and then stepped up to the pitcher of water sitting on a table. He pulled out a packet of powder, and as he slowly poured it in, the water turned red.

“This is the whole miracle,” he began his lesson. “Jesus had hidden in his sleeves a powder like this and then pretended to have changed the water into wine in a wonderful manner. But I can do even better than Jesus; I can change the wine into water again.”

He pulled out another packet of powder and put it in the red liquid. It became clear. With another packet, it became red again.

One of the students sat at his desk, shaking his head, unimpressed. Finally, he challenged the professor: “You have amazed us, Comrade Professor. We ask of you just one more thing—drink your wine!”

The professor chuckled and said, “This I cannot do. The powder is poison.”

The Christian replied, “This is the whole difference between you and Jesus. He, with his wine, has given us joy, whereas you poison us with your wine.” The professor angrily stomped out of his room and had the student arrested and thrown in prison. But news of the incident spread very far and strengthened many in their faith.

The enemy’s promise of an easy exchange is a lie. Most department stores have a user-friendly return policy that allows customers to exchange their purchases in order to be satisfied. People stand in line to swap a smaller size for a larger one or one color for another in hopes that it will make them look thinner or prettier or just plain happier. Likewise, many people in life are standing in line, God’s truth in hand. They are told to swap God’s truth for anything, and it will make them satisfied customers. We always end up disappointed in the end. God wants you to see through the enemy’s lies. Hold on to God’s truth—at any cost.

Readings taken from
Extreme Devotion: The Voice of the Martyrs