The Kingdom of Upside Down---An Original Parable...

This is an original parable/fairy tale that is rooted in truth...please enjoy, but don't link, copy or blog without my permission. Copyright by Deena Peterson, April 2007.


The Kingdom of Upside Down

Once there was a man who was searching, but he did not know what he was looking for. In his travels he came upon a vast and glorious kingdom. Eager to find what was within the kingdom walls, he entered the gates.

Soon he encountered a long parade of people. He stopped one of the men and asked, "Pilgrim, where do you journey?"

The man smiled and said, "Why, to see the King, of course! Come, join us on our pilgrimage!" He clapped the stranger on the back and gestured
toward his family. With a nod, the searcher joined the group.

Along their journey the searcher saw many dressed in splendor, their cheeks robust and their bodies full of vigor. But he also saw some dressed in rags, with health seemingly gone from their appearances. He wondered at the difference in those who made this long journey.

After a while, they came to the castle. There was a mad rush to the doors...all pressed to be the first to enter. Except for one. That one held the door open and gestured to all to enter, smiling and waiting for his own chance to go inside. IT wasn't until all were safe in the castle that he made his way inside.

Upon entering, the King saw the last one come in, and He gestured for this one to sit at his right hand. The others at first were stunned, then they remembered the kindness of the one. As he passed, they rose and applauded his selflessness. Those who had entered first moved down to make room.

The searcher shook his head in puzzlement. "This is all upside down," he whispered to himself.

The King, noticing the searcher, also gestured to him, that he should sit on the King's left. The searcher moved hesitantly, not knowing what to expect. He saw, out of the corner of his eye those who were tattered and
bedraggled, whose health seemed fleeting and so very frail.

The King noticed where his gaze fell and said, "What troubles you, my son?"

The searcher nodded toward the small gathering. "Those people, over there. They seem so sick, so frail. And yet they made this journey from who knows how great a distance!"

The King nodded his regal head. "And great is their reward for their
perseverance through pain and suffering to get to Me," He acknowledged. The searcher watched with wonder as the King's servants came and
bandaged the wounded and tenderly robed the ragged in splendor from His own treasures.

Those who came in their own splendor did not shine as those robed in the King's fabrics!

The searcher shook his head in puzzlement. "This is all upside down," he whispered to himself.

Another family approached the King. The little girl came forward and held out her hand. "Oh, great King, we longed to give You treasure for Your kingdom. My father and mother had a small tin cup. From this, we made these nails for You."

In her hand were three tiny nails, hand-formed and polished until they gleamed in the castle's light. The searcher wondered in amazement as the King took them and held them as if they were precious stones.

"Thank you, my dear girl," the King said with a smile. "I was in need of nails such as these, for a very delicate project of mine." The girl beamed at Him and ran back to her family. With tears welling in His kind and
gentle eyes, the King thanked her parents for their sacrifice.

The searcher shook his head in puzzlement. "This is all upside down," he whispered to himself.

"Well, that makes sense," the King whispered back to the searcher, "as I am the King of the Upside Down Kingdom."

"Who are You, great King?" the searcher asked with longing in his heart.

The King gestured for a servant to bring Him the Book of Remembrance. He took it and placed it before the searcher, opening to the first page. "My story begins here," He said, pointing His finger at a lowly enclave carved into a mountainside. The herds of cattle and flocks of sheep were evident in the image.

The searcher was shocked. "You? Born here? In a stable barely fit for animals?" He shook his head, "That seems so upside down."

The King nodded and turned the page. The images of the lowly shepherds appeared, bowed before the tiny manger. "You see, few gain entrance at a castle. But all may enter a stable."

The searcher nodded slowly, his understanding becoming more apparent in his expression. He took the book from the King, and looked at page
after page, of the King teaching and walking with the common and the lowly, the learned and the unlearned alike. He was amazed that One such as this great King would do such as this.

Finally, the searcher came to the end of the book. On the final page, was a quote etched in red ink: "If I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me."

"Then this is when You gained all of this?" the searcher asked the King, imagining that the palace and all it's riches drew people as a magnet.

"Oh, no," said the King with a sad but knowing smile. "Come with me," He said, pushing back His seat.

He led the searcher down a long corridor. Lights gleamed in the distance. As they approached, the man gasped in shock.

For there, on the wall, was an image of horror that surpassed the human mind's ability to conceive of it. A wooden cross, covered in blood and gore, bearing what resembled a man, but severely disfigured.

"Not You!" the searcher cried out, falling to his knees. Tears poured forth uncontrollably. "Not the King!"

A mighty hand rested gently on the searcher's shoulder. "Yes, that is I. I was lifted up high on that cross for all the world to see. I was killed so that all could one day dwell here with me."

The man looked up at the King with wonder and amazement, tears still streaming down his cheeks. "You were killed? But...You’re here...so how...?"

The King smiled at him with a twinkle in His eye. "That is why I am called King of Kings and Lord of Lords."

The man turned and bowed down at the King's feet, noticing the hole that pierced them. "Oh, King, I want to dwell here with You! This is what I have been longing for! What must I do?"

The King sighed and gently said, "There is nothing you can do."

The man, shocked, looked up at the King, desperation etched in his
features. "Oh, King, surely there must be something I can do!"

The King shook His head. "You must only believe in Me."

"Oh, I do believe!" the searcher proclaimed loudly. The voices in the
distant hall quieted at his shout. "How could I not believe? You, mighty King, who was born in a stable so that all men could come to see....who takes those who are of no notice and makes them to sit at His right hand...

"You, who take the smallest of gifts with the greatest of honor, and who clothe the suffering and ragged in finest apparel...and who gave of His life so that someone such as I could dwell with Him here...and then lives again," the man cried. "Oh, mighty King, how can I not believe?"

How indeed.......

As I said before, please email me before you use any part of this post...

Copyright by Deena Peterson, April, 2007

Thanks, and be blessed...

Deena