A Date With God!

The well-being of his people was all a king thought about and strove for. Work is worship and Duty is God; so it’s no mean conclusion that God was immensely pleased with him. When he was deeply engrossed in prayer, the Lord incarnated and blessed the King. The Lord smiled and told him to ask for anything. The king said, “Oh Lord! You have given me everything. And now after receiving this divine vision I have nothing left to ask for. But I love my people more than anything. Please grant your vision to them all too!”

God smiled saying that, that would not be possible. But the king persisted. God said, “Alright, bring your people tomorrow evening to the mountain top and I shall grant them my vision from behind the mountain.”

So the following day, the king announced to all his subjects that he would be taking them to see God! They had a date with God! The air was brimming with excitement and fervour. Virtually the entire kingdom was marching towards the mountain, each trying to outdo the others in speed and style. Some carried flowers; others carried gifts and sweets.
As they reached the base of the mountain, they saw a tree on which grew copper coins and leaves. Some of the people leapt that way to gather the coins. The king warned them saying that no one should get distracted by these attractions, because today they were going to see God! Despite that some people gathered up the coins and ran back home.

The rest of them marched up. Sometime later they spotted a tree with silver coins. A number of people plucked the coins off the tree. The more they plucked; the more they grew. The king again warned his people, not to give into temptation. His warning fell on deaf ears. Those who gathered up the silver coins, rushed back home thinking that such opportunities do not come every day. Meeting God was something they could do another time. And God was always there whenever they would call; where would He go anyways?

As most of you would have guessed, as they moved further up, they came across a tree laden with gold leaves and coins. Now this one was too hard to resist. People laughed in glee as they filled their pockets with Gold. They even tied the coins into packets using their garments. The king beseeched them to join him so that they could move on to meet God. But the people thought that God could wait for another day in life, but this opportunity wouldn’t come again.

All except the king and the queen were smitten by gold. The king had tears in his eyes as the queen held his arm and both continued their journey up.
The peak of the mountain drew closer. Just then they saw a tree laden with diamonds. Oh! The queen took one look at it and with a whoop of joy started gathering up the glittering stones in her garments. The king begged her to stop. With their weight, some of her garments tore and her naked body was bared to view. The king hung his head in shame. A feeling of disgust and despair overcome him as he realised that he could not influence his wife too, to have that burning penchant for God. He could not awaken in her the yearning to give up the worldly attractions so that she could see God.

Eventually the king walked up to the summit of the mountain and sure enough, God was standing there waiting for him. The king joined his hands and started to explain, but God said, “It is okay my child. I knew you would come alone!”