A Huge Mansion

Once upon a time, there was a young man who lived in a huge mansion. The mansion had been built for him by God, and he had lived there for as long as he could remember. As he grew, he had explored much of the mansion, and had discovered a large bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, a first-aid station, a garden and tennis courts out back, and a little chapel in the side yard.

The bedroom had a large comfortable bed, and plenty of room in which to relax and sleep. He spent much time there during the day as well, lolling back against the large bed pillows and drowsing or reading a book. It was a wonderful place to call home - to fall asleep in every night, and rise up from each morning to prepare for the day.

The living room was full of activity, and there was a TV there as well. He spent entire afternoons laughing and rolling on the floor, racing around for fun and watching all kinds of entertaining and educational shows, some of which left him breathless - either from laughing or from the depth of wonder they created.

The kitchen contained every kind of food imaginable, and he was able to eat and drink as he wished. Nearby was a first-aid station, which could heal his every ailment, and was packed to the brim with the necessary medicines and salves to maintain a healthy life.

Outside, the garden bloomed with brightly lit flowers and large leafy-green trees. He spent days sitting under the trees, or near the flowers, drinking in the thick, earthy smells and watching the tiny insects and animals make their contented way in the world.

Sometimes, he would crave activity, and run out to the tennis courts for exercise. He always returned from the courts exhausted and happy, his body glowing in the warm aura of the effort he had put forth.

And finally, there was the tiny chapel, the place where he could go to thank God for building him this glorious mansion. He stopped in often to pray and offer thanks for his life and the world in which he lived.

All of the different areas of the mansion held so many things for him to explore and experience, that he was quite amazed, and lived in wonder from day to day.

One day, he was watching the TV in the living room, and saw that there was more to these rooms around him than he realized. He saw people full of lust indulging in it with no shame at all in the bedrooms. He saw gluttons and slobs fill their bellies in the kitchens. He saw violence in the sports arenas, and death in the streets. He saw dangerous animals and plants in the wilderness areas, and all of this frightened him beyond belief.

All the wonderful places he had around him could very well contain all the horrible things he had seen. As he looked around, he realized that this had all been shown to him in the living room, and that he was afraid to stay there much longer as well.

Filled with fear, he rushed from the house, seeing all of the terrible things that he imagined could be happening in each area of the mansion. He ran blindly, and without purpose. Suddenly, he burst into a tiny room that he hadn't seen on TV, and it filled him with wonder. He was in the little chapel!

God had given him a way to be saved from the threats of terrible danger all around him, and he had found it! With joy, he knelt before the altar of the chapel, and thanked God for bringing him safely to this place, and for saving him from all of the danger.

The young man arranged to have his meals brought to him in the chapel, and put down some comfortable pillows in a corner to make a bed, and was quite comfortable and content. Every day he knelt at the altar in the chapel and prayed, and smiled in thanks to God for the goodness he received everyday, there in his little room.

One day, when he was eating a meal, he accidentally dropped a glass, and it shattered near his feet, cutting the skin. In agony, the young man remembered the first-aid station, and averting his eyes from seeing any other part of the mansion, the man hopped to the first-aid station, and found what was necessary to heal his foot.

Before long, he was able to return to the chapel, and resume his daily life there. Whenever he was injured in the future, he was able to temporarily take refuge in the first-aid station, and then return to the chapel. This made up his daily life for quite a long time.

After a while, the man realized that he was starting to gain some weight, from lack of activity, but that did not matter much to him. He would also get bored every once in a while, which would lead to idle thoughts and stray fantasies. But he knew that a good prayer or two would empty his mind of such drivel.

The lack of beauty and variety in what he saw every day started to make him feel depressed, and he pondered the idea of peeking around the corner to look at the garden, but he would soon banish the thought from his head.

It was too dangerous, and as long as he just waited out the depression, it would finally go away. Besides, he was safe from the dangers of the rest of the mansion, and should feel very happy and content inside of his little chapel. His life was bearable; it wasn't so bad.

A day came when God decided to make a visit to the young man, and when he arrived, he wandered all through the mansion looking for him. Finally, he came across the young man sitting in the chapel, looking quite unhappy and fairly flabby. The young man jumped up.

"Oh, thank you Lord, for this chapel! It is such a safe place, such a wonderful area to worship you and pray and feel good! Oh yes, and the first-aid station comes in handy quite a bit, as well. When I need healing from my injuries, I know where to go!"

The Lord replied, "But what about the rest of the mansion I built? Don't you like it?"

The man's face clouded over, and he replied, "No, Lord. There are some very serious problems with the rest of the house, and I need to complain about them to you. There's, well, there's all kinds of disgusting lust and depraved behavior in the bedroom, gluttony and disgusting habits in the kitchen, violence in the sports area, danger in the natural earth, and death in the streets! How could you let me try to live in such a place? Oh, and that THING in the living room, that showed all of this evil to me, it makes me so frightened that I can't even consider visiting the living room again. The whole thing is really just a disaster! I'm just so lucky you built this secure little chapel for me to live in, or I would be simply lost!"

The Lord smiled sadly down at the young man, and replied, "My son, think back. Before you saw those things on TV, what were the other places in the mansion like to you?"

The young man thought for a while, and a puzzled expression crossed his face.

"Hm. . . well, the bedroom was kind of cozy, and there was always something good to eat in the kitchen. Wow. . . and tennis sure was a lot of fun." He looked up at the Lord suddenly. "What happened to them? This place used to be so wonderful, and now everything has gone wrong!"

The Lord replied, "Has this place really changed? At all?"

"I guess not," replied the young man. "Lord, I don't understand. What happened?"

The Lord seated himself on the grass outside the chapel, and motioned for the man to join him. Reluctantly, although he knew he would be safe as long as he was in the presence of God, the man tiptoed out to the grass and sat beside the Lord.

"My son, I did not build this huge mansion for you so that you could spend your life in that tiny chapel. I built it for you to live in and explore fully. There is so much here for you to see, and learn and experience. And I must tell you something: there is only one reason you have rejected the rest of the house and confined yourself here. Fear. Nothing but fear. A little touch of fear and all of the beauty and life that I have created for you here has gone to waste."

The young man interrupted. "But Lord, those terrible things... they do exist! They happen all the time. How can I live among that kind of evil?"

"Remember what the mansion was like before you knew anything about evil? The same potential was there, but you were not afraid. There was nothing else different. Nothing at all."

He leaned in closer.

"Let me tell you a little secret. The more you give in to fear, the more power evil has over you. If you stride right up to evil, look it right in the eye and stare it down . " He chuckled. "It's really not all that impressive."

The man simply nodded, amazed.

"If you allow yourself to forget about fear, forget about what *might* happen, and open your eyes to the wonder and beauty and excitement I have created for you here, now, where you are free to enjoy it, your life will be glorious again! You will be healthier, more cheerful, more alive! That is what I have wanted for you - to live life more abundantly! How can you do that hiding away in this tiny little chapel, making furtive trips to the first-aid station for little healing sessions before going back to your tiny room?"

And then, as if by a miracle, the young man's eyes were opened, and he looked around him. The flowers of the garden were in full bloom, the sun was blazing away in the sky, and the wind was rushing through the grass with a joyous fury. The young man leapt to his feet, laughed aloud for the first time in months, and spun around a couple of goofy circles.

God saw the change, and was pleased. He offered some parting words.

"Enjoy the relaxation and peace of your bedroom, the excitement and laughter of your living room, the delicious food and drink of the kitchen, the physical pleasure of exercise, the splendor of the natural world. Dig deep into all the corners of your mansion, my son. Yes, there will be times when evil makes an appearance, but imagine what little power it will have if you do not always fear it. It will come and then it will go, but you will retain the ability to live and love to the fullest. And when you do make stops in the chapel, do not allow it to be a place of refuge, but rather a place of thanksgiving and celebration for the gifts I have bestowed on you in the rest of your mansion. I built it for you to enjoy. Remember that!"

With a huge smile and a quick, "Thank you, Lord!" the man returned to his home, running as he went.

With a gleeful, furious excitement, the man delved into the mansion that God had built him. He looked into dark corners, up in the highest places, as far as he could roam into the garden, and saw more delights and joys than he had ever imagined. His life was full and rich, and his knowledge grew by leaps every day.

The young man had finally allowed the mansion that God had built for him to be opened up, to be explored, and the love and kindness always outweighed the darkness and evil that made its infrequent appearances.

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One day, the man stood at the edge of the path leading out to the street. As much as he loved his own mansion, the rest of the world held an interest for him. He was curious to see other mansions, and the people who lived in them.

He crossed the street, and knocked on the door of the mansion across the street. He heard a fearful, muffled, "Who is it?" from deep inside.

"I am a friend!" he called. "May I visit you?"

There was a silence, then the reply: "If you are careful. Please come in."

He opened the door, and stepped into the mansion. It was every bit as gorgeous and magnificent as his own, and yet there was dust everywhere, and even the floors looked unused. The man stepped through the house, peering around for the owner, and finally found her in the first-aid station. She was sitting on a patio chair, sipping some purified water and staring dully at one of the white walls. Her eyes were sunken and dark, and her skin was an unhealthy pale color. She smiled timidly.

"Hello," she said to the man. "Isn't this a neat place? Everything is so neat and tidy, all the walls are white and the counters are germ-free. I'll bet you're envious to see how great things are for me."

The man smiled sadly at the woman, and said, "Do you remember what the rest of your mansion was like, before you found refuge here?"

She thought for a moment, trying hard to think back. Finally, she nodded, a little wistfully. "I do remember. What happened?" she replied.

The man turned around and headed for the back door, calling out over his shoulder, "Come outside on the grass with me."

Written by: Bill Armstrong