|
Author
|
Topic: Empath Mini-Stories
|
Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
|
posted 07-01-2012 08:21 AM
"Why Can't It Be Love: A Talk With Mother Nature"
Also on the same subject.
-----
Empath decided to visit Mother Nature, to ask for her opinion about something that was on his mind. He went to her cottage and was surprised to find her there, as she was equally surprised to find him there. "Come in, come in, my child," she said gracefully.
"This smurf appreciates your allowing this smurf to visit you, Mother Nature," Empath said. "It must not be easy to have time for yourself when you have the whole world to take care of."
"That's very true, Empath, but I do like to converse with the creatures I am in charge of every now and then," Mother Nature said. "Would you like some bread with smurfberry jam?"
"This smurf appreciates the offer of hospitality, Mother Nature, but this smurf is fine," Empath said.
"Very well, then," Mother Nature said. "Tell me, what is it that brings you to my doorstep?"
"This conversation this smurf was having with Tapper about this...kind of love that creatures of the same gender have with each other," Empath said.
"Oh, dear, I am very familiar with what you are speaking of, Empath, and it's something that I don't like to talk much about," Mother Nature said.
"This smurf doesn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Mother Nature," Empath said. "It's just that this smurf has heard Tapper's view of what he thinks about this kind of love, and he says that it's more physical attraction than real love. What this smurf wants to hear is your view on the subject."
Mother Nature sighed. "Well, my dear, love can be a very complicated thing at best and very dangerous at worst. But I do believe that when the world came into being, it was meant to have pairs that would complement each other, because both are essential for the world to function. As I cannot exist without my counterpart Father Time and he cannot exist without me, so neither can anything exist without male and female to bring forth life into being."
"So you believe that male and female are meant to be united together and to love each other in all aspects, like emotionally, spiritually, and even physically?" Empath asked.
"I believe that is simply how life is meant to be, Empath," Mother Nature said. "A pair of two of the same gender cannot bring forth any kind of life at all."
"But what if they just want to love each other, Mother Nature, and not produce any kind of life?" Empath asked.
"The nature of all beings is to produce life, Empath," Mother Nature said. "A creature that cannot produce life just cannot continue to exist. And unfortunately, sometimes, they would have to be destroyed so that creatures that will produce life will thrive."
"That doesn't sound like it's a very loving thing to do, Mother Nature, to destroy creatures that have no desire to produce life," Empath said.
"It breaks my heart that such a thing must be done, Empath, but sometimes the only loving thing you can do when it comes to dealing with such creatures is to do that," Mother Nature said. "It may be more unloving to just let the creatures live and not expect any of consequence to happen for how they live."
"Consequences? Like possibly a species might die off because there isn't a balance of the two genders in order for them to produce life?" Empath asked.
"That and even worse, Empath," Mother Nature said. "Make no mistake, I do feel sorrow for the creatures that I am in charge of, and I do the best that I can to make sure that all creatures in the forest and beyond it will be able to produce life. But even nature has to rein in elements that are detrimental to the continuance of a species, and I cannot allow such elements to continue on without doing anything about it."
"It's just that this smurf can't feel in my heart that it would require destroying creatures that do not have the desire of producing life in them, Mother Nature," Empath said.
"It's just not wise to fool around with Mother Nature, my child," Mother Nature said. "Tampering with things that are against nature will only lead to trouble, not just for yourself, but for all creatures that live. I hope that will give you some wisdom in how you will conduct yourself."
"This smurf has no intention of ever falling in love with anybody of the same gender, Mother Nature," Empath said. "This smurf's heart is after Smurfette, and this smurf hopes that she and this smurf will be able to marry someday."
"I see how you are with the young maiden, Empath, and that is my wish for you as well," Mother Nature said. "I just would not want to see anything happen that would disappoint your hopes or hers."
"If Smurfette decides that another Smurf is more worthy to marry than this smurf, then this smurf will respect her wishes and let her make the decision," Empath said. "Anyway, this smurf believes you have satisfied this smurf's curiosity on a rather difficult subject, and appreciates your courage and willingness to discuss it."
"I am glad to take the time to answer your question regardless, Empath," Mother Nature said, smiling. "I would hope to see you again."
--------------------
VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4103 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
|
|
Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
|
posted 08-27-2012 06:19 PM
"The Birth Of Brainy"
-----
It started on the day that Papa Smurf had brought Empath as a baby Smurf to Psychelia, where he hoped that its leader, the Psyche Master, would help him train his child to better use the mental abilities he was born with. The Psyche Master agreed to do so, but only if Empath was left in Psychelia to be trained until he was 150 years old, at which point he would be released. Papa Smurf didn't like this condition one bit, but was nonetheless forced to do so. Papa Smurf's son watched him sadly as he said his goodbyes to the child he so dearly wanted and loved, and then cried as he watched Papa Smurf leave.
But no sooner after Papa Smurf left, he heard a painful scream inside the Psyche Master's chamber, which sounded like Empath was being killed. He tried to reenter the chamber, but the door was sealed shut. He uselessly pounded on the doors, wanting to stop the Psyche Master from doing what he thought was being done, but it was no use. Soon the screaming stopped, and Papa Smurf left Psychelia feeling heartbroken, knowing that his son is dead.
Lillithina greeted her husband when he returned. "Cully, what's wrong?" she asked. "Where's Empathy?"
"Lilly, I must smurf you in private what has happened to our son," Papa Smurf said, dreading what he was going to tell her.
In their home, after Papa Smurf explained what he did, Lillithina was really upset. "You...you...you monster! What have you done to our son...the smurf of our love together? You smurfed him away from me and you smurfed them to those...those...those beasts! You didn't even ask me what I would have wanted for him. You just smurfed this whole thing behind my smurf, and now I don't even have a son anymore."
"I'm terribly sorry for what I have smurfed with him, Lilly," Papa Smurf said with all honesty. "Please, you have to understand that what I smurfed was an accident."
Lillithina slapped him in the face. "I thought I could trust you. I thought that you would be a good Papa Smurf to our son Empathy. I thought many things. Now I can't even think of smurfing with you anymore. You smurfed something precious away from me, without even asking me, and I don't think I can ever forgive you for that."
Papa Smurf watched as his wife packed up as many things as she could reasonably carry with her and left the house. After she left, all he could do was go to his son's bedroom and look inside the crib that Empath would no longer sleep in. He picked up the blanket that his son would no longer snuggle close to him. And then he sat down and cried.
Aristotle saw Lillthina arrive at his doorstep. "Great Smurfness, my dear Lilly, what has happened to you?" he asked out of concern.
"I lost my son Empathy," Lillithina answered very sadly. "It was all Cully's fault. He smurfed him away from me and smurfed him to his death."
"I...I don't believe it," Aristotle said, sounding surprised. "Maybe with a soothing cup of smurfberry tea, you can explain the whole thing better."
After allowing Lillithina to enter his house and explain everything her husband told her about Empath over a cup of tea, Aristotle pondered. "That is very unlike your husband to smurf anything of the sort. Maybe he thought he was smurfing what was best for the child, who after all is smurfed into the world with very unique abilities that would make him feared among his fellow Smurfs. Maybe he was smurfing what he could to spare him of the future heartbreak that he would smurf when he has to smurf with the fact that..."
"Please don't lecture me, Aris," Lillithina said as she broke down and cried. "It's hard enough dealing with the loss as it is."
"I'm sorry, Lilly...I didn't mean to smurf it into a lecture," Aristotle said. "I don't condone what he may have smurfed to you, but I won't condemn him either for it. If there's anything that you need, I would gladly smurf it to you. I can't be the Papa Smurf that your husband is, but perhaps I can smurf you back what you have lost today."
"I can't ask you to smurf that for me, Aris," Lillthina said. "I don't want to use that just to smurf back at Cully for what he smurfed to me."
"Don't think of this at all as revenge, Lilly," Aristotle said. "You don't even have to love me if you don't feel the same way about me as you did your husband. All I want for you is to be smurfy again with a child of your own."
"I need some time to think about it, Aris," Lilltihina said.
"I understand, Lilly," Aristotle said. "Smurf as much time as you need."
And so during the next two years, Lillithina spent her days living with Aristotle, which raised quite a stir in the village as they wondered why she was doing that, and why Culliford wouldn't come out of his house. Rumors started to circulate, and the three of them couldn't escape the scrutiny of their fellow Smurfs as they were met with suspicion about what's going on.
Then on a night when Aristotle was sitting alone at his desk in his study writing a sermon that he hoped to share with his fellow Smurfs, he felt an arousing touch of a female hand underneath his hat. He turned around and saw that it was Lillithina standing behind him.
"Oh, it's you," Aristotle said as he saw who it was, while she innocently slipped her hand behind her back. "You really shouldn't be smurfing that unless you were...intending to..."
"I'm sorry, Aris," Lillithina said. "I was just going to ask you a question, and I didn't know how to ask it."
"There's nothing for you to be ashamed about, if I already know what you're going to ask me," Aristotle said, reaching out and holding her hands.
"All I really want is a child," Lillithina said. "I don't expect you to ever smurf advantage of me."
"I would never smurf that of you, Lilly," Aristotle said. "I love you too much as a friend to ever smurf you the burden of loving me as anything more than a friend."
Lillithina sat down on his lap and just let him hold her for a while. "How I miss just being held by someone," she sighed. "I know you have more important matters to smurf to, like the sermon you're smurfing on."
"Right now, your happiness is what's important," Aristotle said softly. "The sharing of time-smurfed wisdom can wait until I have fulfilled it."
Nobody knew what else went on that night, but after a few months, Lillithina's fellow Smurfs noticed that she was carrying a child again. They began to wonder what happened and who among the male Smurfs was the father. Culliford saw that her wife was with child again, and this time not from him. All it did was make him feel like he deserved it for having taken Empath away from her.
"Cully, I didn't mean to hurt you at all with what I smurfed with her," Aristotle tried to tell him one time in private. "All I wanted for her was to be smurfy again with a child, and since she would not smurf to you so she could have one, I offered myself to be the Smurf who would smurf her that."
"Do you intend to smurf anyone else that you're the Papa Smurf of her child?" Culliford asked.
"I do not wish to hurt you anymore by smurfing such a claim, but neither do I intend to smurf that you are the one," Aristotle answered.
"However this smurfs out, you would make a better Papa Smurf to her child than I would be right now," Culliford said.
"What you smurfed was a mistake, that I don't plan on holding against you, Cully," Aristotle said. "The other Smurfs...they may not be as forgiving as I am. My only hope is that you will smurf peace in this situation you're in."
And then came the day when Lillthina gave birth to the child. Culliford refused to attend with his fellow Smurfs waiting outside the infirmary as Healer helped deliver what turned out to be another son. But when she received her son into her arms, Lillithina noticed that the child's eyes were rather dim, as if he couldn't see clearly anything around him.
"It's probably one of those things that happen in childsmurf, Lilly, how these young ones can't smurf as clearly as the others when they smurf into the world," Healer said. "Surely that will pass in time."
But over the course of the next few days, Lillthina and Aristotle could see that the child's vision problems did not correct themselves. She felt frustrated as she watched her son blindly crawl along trying to find out where everything was.
Aristotle realized something. "He must have been smurfed with the same vision problem that I was smurfed with, Lilly," he said. "Perhaps this child also needs to be smurfed with a pair of glasses, like Narrator and Orbit."
And so Healer checked the child's eyes, and indeed came to the same conclusion that the child needed glasses. Soon a small pair was crafted for the baby Smurf, and with the glasses, he could see perfectly. Lillithina and Aristotle watched as the first thing the child picked up was a book and started reading it.
"Amazing," Aristotle said, smiling as he watched. "This child is just as brainy as I was when I was born. Oh, if only every child was interested in smurfing open a book that they would hope to read themselves."
"Brainy," Lillithina said to herself. "What a beautiful name for this child."
And soon her child was introduced to the village as Brainy Smurf. In the official register of Smurf names, he was recorded as Schtroumpf a Lunettes -- "the Smurf with glasses".
--------------------
VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4103 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
|
|
Amy Sue Smurfette
Nurturer Smurf / The Odd Smurf
Member # 4050
Member Rated:
|
posted 08-28-2012 07:04 AM
wow that's quite an interesting twist on things!
--------------------
we're all someone's little fangirl.
Posts: 903 | From: fah fah aweeey... | Registered: Oct 2011
|
|
Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
|
posted 09-01-2012 05:08 PM
"The Way She Smurfs At You"
-----
One night, Empath and Hefty were sitting together at the counter in Tapper's Tavern, quietly enjoying their drinks without talking to each other: Empath with his usual glass of sarsaparilla ale and Hefty with his glass of Vita-Juice. Empath was busy working on the crossword puzzle that was in that day's newspaper when something came into his mind that he wanted to ask his best friend.
"Tapper, do you ever get that feeling that Smurfette is looking at you...like...," he began to ask before his voice trailed off, finding himself somewhat uncomfortable.
"You mean the kind of look she smurfs toward a male Smurf she might have an interest in, my good Empath?" Tapper responded. "I'm sure that every Smurf around our ages here has smurfed that kind of feeling whenever Smurfette is around, as if she's attracted to us physically. It's a natural sort of thing that happens, and sometimes even I can feel it smurfing from her."
"I smurf that kind of feeling all the time from her, Tapper," Hefty said. "I just don't let that kind of thing bother me."
"But this smurf hasn't done anything that has made Smurfette be physically interested in this smurf, Tapper," Empath said.
"You do not need to have done anything to cause it to happen, Empath," Tapper said. "Unlike some Smurfs here who just smurf it upon themselves to make themselves physically attractive, others simply smurf about their lives smurfing what they would normally smurf. We would never fully know just what it is that interests a female Smurf, but whatever it is, even it is just physical, we can't ignore that it will attract them to the point where they may to smurf more about the Smurf that they're interested in."
"I bet my smurfs that Smurfette is just interested in Empath because she only wants to smurf under his hat, if you know what I mean," Hefty said.
"'Smurf under my hat'? What do you mean by that, Hefty?" Empath asked.
"You smurf all those years in Psychelia and you don't know anything about how nature smurfs?" Hefty said. "So much good you will smurf us. Look, if Smurfette's been smurfing at you more often than she's been smurfing at us, then she's got to be smurfing for something that, well..."
"How dare you would even think that of Smurfette, my good Hefty," Tapper said. "You see, Empath, what he's smurfing of is the private intimate ritual that should normally happen when a male Smurf and a female Smurf are married. She smurfs your head by smurfing under your hat, which would have you smurf her hair under her hat, and from then on, it...smurfs you both close together."
"This smurf seems to understand, Tapper," Empath said. "But does Smurfette even know about this ritual?"
"Who knows all the things that smurf within a Smurfette's mind, Empath?" Tapper said. "It is a mystery that has besmurfed even the wisest and most intelligent male Smurfs for centuries."
"If Smurfette's that interested in you, Empath, believe me, she'll be smurfing about it," Hefty said.
"This smurf would rather Smurfette be interested in things about this smurf besides the physical parts, if that can be helped," Empath said.
"Well, that's entirely up to you to smurf that part of yourself to Smurfette, Empath," Tapper said. "Physical love can only smurf so far before it becomes empty and hollow. What you must do is show Smurfette that you care for her as a fellow Smurf and a female Smurf, that you would be willing to smurf your life for her and smurf her what she wants, and that you won't always be rewarded for it. True love requires taking risks like that, but if it's worth smurfing that Smurfette is happy regardless of what we smurf in return, then that should be our reward."
"That's pretty cheap...smurf everything for Smurfette and smurf nothing in return except that she is happy," Hefty said. "For everything that I have smurfed for her, I would expect that I would smurf something more from her."
"All of us here would expect something more from Smurfette for the things that we smurf for her, Hefty," Tapper said. "But the one thing we can't do is change somebody's heart. That power is solely in the hands of the Almighty, and only He can smurf a heart wherever He wants it to go, whether it's toward somebody or away from somebody."
"You do have a point, Tapper," Empath said. "If loving Smurfette means that her happiness counts for more in this smurf's world than my own, then this smurf will do whatever it takes to make sure of that."
"Even if that means that she wants to smurf under your hat?" Hefty asked in a suggestive manner.
"This smurf would never do anything to take advantage of her, Hefty, even if she seems to be asking for it," Empath said.
"Yeah, sure...you're a real gentlesmurf around her, Empath," Hefty said.
"I would believe Empath will know enough about how to behave around a Smurfette that he will never smurf himself or Smurfette of their virtue, Hefty," Tapper said. "Nevertheless, my prayers are for you and for every Smurf here that we will maintain ourselves with propriety and dignity until such a time as when Smurfette will smurf for herself a mate."
"I know how to act around a Smurfette, Tapper," Hefty said. "You don't have to bother praying to this Almighty that I don't believe in to smurf me on the straight and narrow."
"But how does this smurf handle the way that Smurfette looks at this smurf, Tapper?" Empath asked.
"You just behave like a gentlesmurf, Empath," Tapper said. "If she really cares about you for more than just your looks, she'll undersmurf that you're more than just an object of her desire. I can't see why she wouldn't smurf you for something beyond being just the new Smurf in her life. But if she doesn't...well, just keep smurfing her the way that you would want to be smurfed by her regardless."
"That's something to think about," Empath said. "This smurf never thought that having Smurfette around means that this smurf would be the center of her attention, and possibly the center of her affections."
"Well, get used to it, Empath," Hefty said. "I have to deal with this problem myself."
--------------------
VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4103 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
|
|
Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
|
posted 09-25-2012 06:04 AM
"The Only Begotten Son"
-----
It was several days later during the reconstruction of the Smurf Village that Tapper's Tavern had reopened, and the Smurfs were able to take a break and enjoy themselves from all the hard work they had to do. Tapper noticed Empath sitting at the counter, just staring at the crossword puzzle he was working on and letting his glass of sarsaparilla ale sit there with hardly a sip.
"Great Smurfiny Crickets, my good Empath, what seems to be smurfing on your mind that you would be like this?" Tapper asked.
Empath sighed. "This smurf is still thinking about the night Papa Smurf revealed to this smurf the fact that this smurf was his only begotten son, and that the rest of you were his adopted sons."
"I would smurf that it wasn't easy for you to learn that fact about yourself, or that Papa Smurf would wait years for you to smurf home to reveal it to you," Tapper said.
"This smurf can only wonder why most if not all of Papa Smurf's 'adopted sons' forgot that they had parents before him, Tapper...including you," Empath said.
"We were all children who were too young to smurf an entire village on our own, Empath," Tapper said. "Papa Smurf was the only adult Smurf around at the time that we can smurf our trust in for anything, and even he wasn't so sure of himself to be the village leader that he became over the smurf of time, let alone be the Papa Smurf to a hundred Smurfs who all lost their Papa and Mama Smurfs. But when we learned to smurf together as a family, we became so attached to Papa Smurf that it was as if he had been our Papa Smurf all our lives."
"And now this smurf has ruined what you believe, by having Papa Smurf reveal to this smurf that I am his only real child," Empath said.
"What happened to you or any of us was never your fault, Empath," Tapper said. "You should of all Smurfs be grateful that your Papa Smurf is still alive and that you can claim him as your own Papa Smurf. If he wasn't, this whole village would have perished, and possibly us along with him."
"This smurf never thought that my existence would be the catalyst for all of you becoming Papa Smurf's sons and daughters, Tapper," Empath said.
"Then I would say you have something in common with the Almighty, for He also has an only begotten Son through which many would be adopted as His sons and daughters," Tapper said.
"This smurf resents the idea of ever being compared to a deity, Tapper," Empath said. "All this smurf wants is to be like all this smurf's fellow Smurfs, not to stand above them as their spiritual redeemer or something like that."
"That wasn't my intention, Empath, and I understand your reasons for not being worshiped like a god," Tapper said. "The Almighty's Son was of a smurf that He related to being like His brethren, knowing what it's like to feel everything they do when it smurfs to living as a man, except that He never sinned. Even when people worshiped Him, He never smurfed the praise all for Himself, but instead smurfed it all to His Father."
"Yet this smurf doesn't understand how this Almighty has adopted humans to become His children through this only begotten Son, Tapper," Empath said.
"Papa Smurf believed you have died when he smurfed you to Psychelia when you were just a wee one, did he not?" Tapper asked.
Empath was surprised of how much Tapper seemed to know about his friend's life. "That's what this smurf had seen in Papa Smurf's memories, Tapper," he said. "And then years later, he learned that this smurf was still alive, although this smurf didn't have any memory of Papa Smurf."
"If this so-called 'death' of you smurfed the rest of us together as Papa Smurf's children, Empath, imagine what the death of the Almighty's Son has done," Tapper said. "It was man who smurfed sin into the world and separated us from the Almighty, so it took another Man just like the first to die for the sin of the world so that we could be reconciled and smurfed back to the Almighty."
"This smurf is still not a savior, Tapper, and this smurf still doesn't want to be worshiped as one," Empath said.
"I will respect that, Empath, because I know Who is worthy of being worshiped above all beings, including yourself," Tapper said. "I'm just praying that you will come to know the Almighty through His Son."
"Did this Son ever feel rejected for being this 'only begotten' of the Almighty?" Empath asked.
"As the holy book says, 'He has no form nor splendor that we should regard Him, nor anything spectacular that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men; a Man of pain, and knowing infirmity; a hiding of faces; being despised, we have esteemed Him not," Tapper answered. "'Truly He has borne our sicknesses, and carried our pain; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.'"
Empath winced at the mention of what was done to the Almighty's Son. "That doesn't sound like the Almighty liked Him as much as any other man."
"He was the beloved Son of the Almighty, Empath, which was what made what He had to do with Him painful but necessary," Tapper said. "Even when He was smurfing on the cross, shouting, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me', the Almighty had to turn His face away."
"This smurf can't imagine Papa Smurf ever having to turn his face away from this smurf, Tapper, even when this smurf did something wrong," Empath said.
"Nobody likes to be forsaken, Empath," Tapper said. "Fortunately for us all, His Son smurfed from the dead the third day, with His disciples smurfing witness to His resurrection, and more smurfing to the faith because of the testimony."
"It's an interesting story, Tapper," Empath said. "It's just hard for this smurf to put faith in things that cannot be seen, unlike the Psyche Master."
"What you smurf in this world isn't eternal, Empath," Tapper said. "It's the invisible things that are smurfed by the Almighty that will last forever. Even this Psyche Master will have to answer for all that he has smurfed with the Almighty's creation, like all of us will."
"It's hard to think of this Almighty being so loving and yet also having to be the judge of everyone's lives, Tapper," Empath said.
"That's part of the reason He has smurfed us His Son, so that we will not smurf under judgment from Him," Tapper said. "His book says, 'Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider clinging, to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found comprised as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in Heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'"
--------------------
VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4103 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
|
|
Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
|
posted 09-25-2012 06:06 AM
"It's The End Of The World (As Tapper Knows It)"
------
"That's great, it smurfs with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane, Papa Smurf is not afraid,..."
One day Empath was sitting with Tapper at the counter of the tavern reading his holy book together. There was something in it that was on Empath's mind to ask his friend about.
"What exactly is the point of the book of Revelation?" Empath asked.
"That, my friend, is the closing chapter of the Almighty's story about Himself and His relationship with mankind," Tapper answered. "It is the revelation of Jesus Christ as He truly is, as both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. And more importantly, it is about the end of this world and the beginning of a new creation."
"It seems like a very frightening, graphic, and yet somewhat cryptic story of the events leading to that particular conclusion, Tapper," Empath said. "How is it that you can stand reading this material without making your skin crawl?"
"I hardly read anything from this book without help from the Holy Spirit," Tapper said. "What you smurfed about the book is very true, and it's something that I wouldn't wish my fellow Smurfs to suffer through, including you of all Smurfs. But you shouldn't feel frightened by the Almighty warning you of the things to smurf in the days leading to His Son's return. His warnings are mostly for our sakes because He doesn't want to see anyone perish and suffer forever in Hades paying for their sins."
"And you truly believe that the Almighty's Son will return at any time?" Empath asked.
"That's correct, Empath," Tapper said. "It's why I always prepare myself for that day because nobody knows when that might happen except for the Almighty Himself. Anyone else claiming to know exactly when is just asking for trouble and trying to proclaim themselves as being God. And Jesus Himself warns us not to follow after those people, because false prophets and false messiahs will rise and smurf great wonders that can deceive the very elect, if possible."
"We may not know when He may appear, Tapper, but judging from what your book says, it does tell us where He's going to appear, which is near Jerusalem, in the land of Israel," Empath said. "This smurf wonders why this is so important."
"Jerusalem is where the Almighty through His Son plans to rule the world from when He sets up His kingdom here on earth, my good Empath," Tapper said. "The devil doesn't want that to happen because he knows where he's headed for, which is the Lake of Fire. That is why he will deceive so many people into believing that he is God and that he will smurf all the people of the world together in one place in the hope of defeating the Almighty...which as you know is impossible, because if death and Hades couldn't conquer Him, what hope does the world have in smurfing so?"
"This smurf figures that they would try their best, even if in the end their attempts turn out to be futile," Empath said. "So how does this whole mess even start out, with the Lamb opening the seven seals and all?"
"It smurfs off with an event that Jokey might say is the Almighty smurfing His Son to smurf His sheep together and smurf the flock out of here," Tapper said with a slight laugh. "The joke is actually mine, but the truth behind it is that it's called the Rapture, which is when the Lord appears in the clouds to receive His own unto Himself, with the dead raised up first and the living smurfed up together with them, and they shall always smurf with Him forever."
"You mean the Almighty's Son appears, and you just vanish?" Empath asked.
"The Word says that it will happen in 'the twinkling of an eye', which means it's so fast that the believers just vanish in the smurf of the unbelieving," Tapper said.
"But why does He just come for the believers before He comes again for this 'battle of Armageddon'? This smurf is not certain about understanding that part," Empath asked.
"It's part of the Almighty's promise to the believers, that as long as they keep the Word of His patience, He will also keep them from 'the hour of trial' that will smurf upon the earth to test those who smurf upon it," Tapper said. "That 'hour of trial' is what would be smurfed as the Great Tribulation, a time of unsmurfy suffering that the Almighty's Son says if those days weren't shortened, no flesh would ever survive it. Just think of what would happen if the Almighty didn't smurf up a time limit for all that suffering."
Empath pondered what was being said. "That would truly be the end of the world as anybody knew it."
"Indeed it would, Empath," Tapper said. "What's terrible about those days is not just all the suffering that will smurf from the judgments in the book of Revelation, especially upon those who don't believe, but the suffering that the Almighty's people, both the Christians and the Jews, will smurf through at the hands of those who believe that this Beast Of The Earth...the one who is smurfed the Antichrist...is truly God in the flesh."
"But in truth, he is really being used by Lucifer, who is his true father, if this smurf understands it correctly," Empath said.
"The holy book says his smurfing will be displayed with all kinds of power, signs, and lying wonders, and with every smurf of evil that deceives those who are perishing, who didn't receive a love of the truth so that they might be saved, Empath," Tapper said. "And so the Almighty will smurf a strong delusion so that they may believe a lie, that they all may be judged, who didn't love the truth but smurfed pleasure in unrighteousness."
"He would be that powerful to deceive the whole world into believing he is the Almighty?" Empath said. "That is a really scary thought."
"The devil's goal is to smurf the throne of God and be like the Most High, and what smurfs in the way is Jews, Christians, and the land of Israel," Tapper said. "This Antichrist is his tool for that purpose, just as I feel will also be the descendants of Abraham's other son Ishmael, because they were not smurfed with the same covenant of the land of Israel as was smurfed with Isaac and his son Jacob. He will smurf just like the Almighty's Son, even to the point where he may die and miraculously smurf back to life. He will smurf up a false prophet who will smurf all kinds of signs that will deceive men, even smurf fire from the sky. This false prophet will have a statue of this evil man smurfed up so that it will speak and cause many who will not worship it to be killed, and he will make men smurf a mark upon their right hand or their forehead, a mark which will smurf their doom forever with the Almighty's judgments."
"So people will be fighting and tooth and nail not only against the Almighty and His Son, but also against the people of Israel and Jerusalem, because they are the chosen of the Almighty, and against the Christians who are born again during this terrible time," Empath said. "Yet those who believe that the Antichrist is the Almighty incarnate will suffer the worst at the hands of the true Almighty."
"When The Son comes from the sky at His coming, His Word will be like a powerful sword that will smurf the nations, Empath," Tapper said. "It will be like a river of blood that will smurf up to the horse's bridles for a distance of 1600 furlongs, which is the length of Israel from its northernmost border to its southernmost border. And He will smurf foot on the Mount of Olives and it will smurf into a valley smurfing east to west, half will smurf north and the other half south. And He will smurf in through the Golden Gate on the east end of Jerusalem and He will smurf up His kingdom while Satan will be bound and sealed for a thousand years until he is released for the final battle, which the Almighty will win while the Devil, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and all those who follow him will be smurfed to the Lake Of Fire."
"So when will people be judged for their sins?" Empath asked.
"I believe there will be two major judgments for sin...the one at the end of time, and the one right before the Millennial Kingdom," Tapper answered. "The prophet Joel smurfs that when the Almighty restores the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, He will also gather the nations into the Valley Of Jehoshaphat and enter into judgment with them, on account of His people and heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and divided up their land. They will be separated like sheep and goats, the sheep on the Son's right hand and the goats on His left. The sheep will be allowed to enter into the kingdom, but the goats will be smurfed into the everlasting fire smurfed for the Devil and his angels, all on the account of what the Almighty's Son says: 'Whatsoever you did to the least of these My brethren, you did also to Me'. Those who smurf evil unto Israel shall be smurfed into everlasting punishment, but those who smurf righteousness unto her shall be smurfed into life eternal."
"This whole thing is just incredible, Tapper...it sounds like something that Reporter would make up for his news stories just so his fellow Smurfs could read the newspaper," Empath said.
"It is the truth that smurfs from the Almighty, Empath, and unfortunately not many people will believe it," Tapper said. "I only pray that the eyes of the people of the world, including our fellow Smurfs, will be awakened to know what's smurfing in the days to come."
Empath and Tapper just sit and listen to the record machine playing the rest of the song:
"It's the end of the world as we know it...it's the end of the world as we know it...it's the end of the world as we know it...and I feel fine..."
--------------------
VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4103 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
|
|
Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
|
posted 07-29-2013 04:35 PM
"Lazy's Birthday Dream"
NOTE: May contain controversial material.
-----
It was the day of Lazy's birthday during the first year of Empath being home from Psychelia, and Lazy fell asleep while everybody was preparing for the party. He could only imagine what it's going to be like this year.
"Lazy! Lazy, wake up! It's time for your smurfday celebration!" a Smurf was calling out to him in his sleep.
Lazy woke up and found out that it was the Smurflings. "Oh, hello there. I didn't think that the party would be starting soon."
"We've been busy for hours, Lazy," Snappy said.
"Yeah, do you know how much work it smurfed us just to get things ready?" Nat said.
"Hey, it's only Lazy who's smurfing a smurfday today," Slouchy said.
"I bet you must be needing something to get this party smurfed and ready for you, so we smurfed the honors of smurfing you this," Sassette said, producing a box of what appeared to be rolled-up cigarettes.
Lazy looked at the Smurflings in amazement. "You Smurflings did this for me?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't we, Lazy?" Snappy said. "We know how much you like smurfing in those green leaves that you're so smurfy about."
"So we smurfed you only the best in smurfed-up cigarettes," Nat said.
"What are you waiting for?" Slouchy said. "Go ahead and smurf yourself one to light up!"
"Here, you can use this," Sassette said, producing a lighter in the other hand.
"Oh, this is just too real to be a dream," Lazy said as he took one of the cigarettes out of the box and had Sassette light one up. He inhaled and noticed how sweet the smoke tasted. "Aaaaahhh...this really smurfs the spot!"
"Here, smurf the whole box with you," Sassette said. "It's your smurfday present this year."
"Oh, you're the best friends that a Smurf like me can have," Lazy said, taking a few more puffs while also grabbing the box of cigarettes. "Wow, this really gets me smurfing in the clouds. It must be a special blend of smurfnip."
"Comes from Farmer's special crop out in the fields, Lazy," Slouchy said. "Only he knows how to grow smurfnip to smurf you that extra special kick."
"We would have smurfed out in the fields all day smurfing the stuff, but Farmer says that this is only for Lazy's smurfday party, because he really cares about you," Snappy said.
"Just don't smurf it all at once, though," Nat said. "Make sure you smurf the rest for later on, when you really need to feel that smurf."
"Come on, Lazy, let's get smurfing to the party," Sassette said, grabbing Lazy's hand after he had finished smoking the cigarette.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Lazy said as he got up and followed the Smurflings into the center of the village where he saw all his fellow Smurfs looking so mellow, as if they have been smoking the same herbs. He also noticed that everything in the village had a strange green tint, which seemed to suggest the idea that they were all intoxicated.
"Lazy, you're just in time," Papa Smurf greeted him. "Greedy has smurfed you a very special cake for your smurfday this year."
"A very special cake?" Lazy said. "What kind of cake is it, Papa Smurf?"
"Oh, it's a very special recipe, smurfed with all kinds of herbs and ingredients that will make you feel just as relaxed and as smurfy as we are," Papa Smurf said.
"Yeah, this is the cake that really bakes you," Greedy said as he brought out the cake that somehow had green frosting on it and designs of smurfnip blossoms on it.
Lazy noticed that Empath also appeared to be rather mellow. "This smurf understands that you enjoy indulging yourself in various types of relaxants, so it was this smurf's idea that this year you should have a smurfday cake to elevate your spirits to the highest degree possible," Empath said.
"Oh, I didn't know that you cared about me wanting to feel so high, Empath," Lazy said. "You're not going to smurf it against me and Nabby for having you smurf your first smurfnip cigarette, are you?"
"Not at all, fellow Lazy, not at all," Empath said, sounding rather chipper. "In fact, this smurf appreciates your efforts in trying to make this smurf feel more like a Smurf through the experimentation with the intoxicating substances. This smurf found the experience rather...interesting."
"Oh, Lazy, I've got a little surprise for you," Smurfette said. Lazy looked and saw that Smurfette was dressed in a skimpy outfit that seemed to be made of smurfnip leaves. "Don't you think that I look smurfy in this? Farmer helped me to smurf this outfit just for you."
"For me?" Lazy said. "Oh, Smurfette, you look so smurfy in those leaves."
"You should be careful wearing that, Smurfette," Hefty said. "You smurf so hot in it that you might end up smurfing the leaves on fire, and then there will be nothing left but fumes to inhale."
"But Hefty, isn't that the point?" Tuffy said. "She ignites the leaves just by wearing them, and then we just smurf in the fumes. Isn't that brilliant?"
"I'm sure that it will make a fasmurfnating study on how much body temperature it would require to make smurfnip leaves combust to the point of generating intoxicating fumes, but right now it's really hard for me to think clearly enough to smurf into such a discussion," Brainy said.
"That's okay, Brainy," Lazy said. "It doesn't matter to me whether Smurfette's outfit smurfs up in flames or not."
"Here, Lazy, try one of my smurfberry candies," Jokey said as he popped one into Lazy's mouth.
"Oooh, this smurfberry candy's got me feeling all smurfed up, like it's got so much hypertine and some other things in it," Lazy said after he tasted the candy.
"Yeah, I made these candies especially for you, Lazy," Jokey said with a laugh. "There's so much hypertine in this candy it will make your head spin, if the other things in it don't smurf the job first."
Suddenly Lazy felt an explosion in his mouth. "Was the candy supposed to do that, Jokey?" Lazy asked.
"Of course it does," Jokey said. "I wouldn't offer you a candy like that if it didn't have one of my surprise tricks in it."
Lazy burped. "Well, it sure has a smoky aftertaste."
"Hey, Lazy, you've got to try this," Snappy said as he handed Lazy and his fellow Smurflings what appeared to be thin straws wrapped in colorful paper. "These are fizzy pops, which you're supposed to smurf through your nose, and it makes you feel like you've got soda foam up your nose."
"Really?" Lazy said as he took one of the straws. "I've got to see how this smurfs!"
"Ready, Smurflings?" Nat said, as all four of them unwrapped their straws. "One...two...three...SNIFF!"
All four Smurflings sniffed up the contents in their straws, as also did Lazy.
"Ohhhh...I can feel the fizzy pops fizzling inside my nose right now," Slouchy said.
"Burping badgers, so can I," Sassette said.
"Wow, that's an amazing awesome feeling," Snappy said. "The only problem is, it makes your nose run like smurfy afterward."
Lazy could feel his nose running. "Oops...I've got to be careful with this!" he said while laughing.
"Don't worry about that, Lazy," Nat said. "You smurf enough of those, you'll get used to the after-effects."
"All right, my little Smurfs, it's time for Lazy to smurf a wish and blow out the candles," Papa Smurf said, as Handy produced a staircase ladder to the top of the cake where the candles were placed.
Lazy went up to the top of the cake and looked at the candle, which was also in a shade of green. "Oh boy...what to wish for...what to wish for...," he said to himself. Then he took in a big breath and blew out the candles as the other Smurfs cheered.
"The first slice of the cake goes to Lazy, to see how he likes his special smurfday cake," Greedy said, as he cut out a slice and put it on a plate.
Lazy took a bite out of the slice. "Ohhhh...mmmmm...wow, that's amazing! I could feel every smurf of me tingling all over with this cake!" Already Lazy could see his vision blurring and colors becoming unusually brighter as the effects of the ingredients mixed into the cake have started to take its effect.
"Be careful, Lazy," Papa Smurf said with a chuckle. "We don't want you smurfing out before you get to smurf everything else in your party."
"You mean there's more?" Lazy asked, sounding curious.
"That's not all we have for this year's smurfday surprise, Lazy," Handy said. "Tapper and I have been smurfing together a little something that I think all the Smurfs will want to enjoy...it's a special smurfing pool full of Tapper's homemade sarsaparilla ale."
"Aye, not only can you swim in this pool, you can also drink the water," Tapper said. "This pool is made to make you feel smurfy all over."
"Oh, Handy...oh, Tapper...you shouldn't have smurfed this all for me on my smurfday," Lazy said, amazed by the sight of the smurfing pool full of sarsaparilla ale. "This is really one of the best smurfday surprises that I have ever smurfed."
"Well, go in and smurf a dip, laddie," Duncan said.
"Last Smurf in is a rotten Smurf," Lazy called out as he raced toward the smurfing pool and dived in headfirst into the foaming brown liquid that felt so smooth and delicious drinking. Some of the other Smurfs followed and got totally sloshed as they swam and drank the water.
"I...love Handy's new smurfing pool," Grouchy said as he rose up in the ale with a hiccup.
All the Smurfs were having fun eating cake and swimming in Handy and Tapper's sarsaparilla ale pool, feeling so immensely good that Lazy had to think that the whole thing felt like a dream. There was no way that such a thing could possibly happen in reality, he thought.
"Well, well, well, I finally have you Smurfs right where I want you," a familiar evil voice said as he and his cat let out a laugh.
Lazy was surprised to find out who it was that just crashed their party. "Gargamel! What do you want with us?"
"Oh, I was invited to this party by Papa Smurf, since he saw what a changed man I am after I renounced my vow of revenge upon you Smurfs," Gargamel said. "Besides that, I have discovered the wondrous joys of smurfnip, which has made and my cat feel really good inside...even better than the thought of ever having Smurfs for dinner. And of course, I have you, little Smurf, to thank for always getting my cat to feel rather funny after leading him into catnip all these years. Apparently he just can't seem to get enough of the plant."
Azrael let out a meow that sounded like he was totally intoxicated with the stuff.
"Well, help yourself to the wonderful cake that Greedy made," Lazy said. "There's more than enough for everybody at this party."
"Oh, don't mind if I do," Gargamel said as Greedy served him a slice, which he quickly ate. "Mmmmmm...this definitely tastes like food of the gods."
"This has got to be the strangest smurfday party that I ever had," Lazy said as he dove back into the sarsaparilla ale. As Lazy floated on his back in the pool of ale, watching the Smurfs dancing around with pink elephants and mushrooms with eyes, he was singing:
I smurf trees of green, red roses too.
I smurf them bloom for me and you,
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
I smurf skies of blue, and clouds of white,
The bright smurfed day, the dark smurfed night,
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow, so smurfy in the sky,
Are also on the faces of Smurfs that go by.
I see friends smurfing hands, saying 'How do you do?'
They're really saying, 'I love you.'
I smurf babies cry, I watch Smurflings grow.
They'll smurf much more than I'll ever know,
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
And as he finished the song, and heard the crowd chanting, "Lazy...Lazy...Lazy...," he found himself sinking in the pool of ale, unable to surface, and watching everything in his world suddenly go black, though he could still hear his name being called.
"Lazy, Lazy, it's time to wake up," a female voice called out.
Lazy found himself opening his eyes, and seeing Smurfette with Empath. "Oh, hi, Smurfette...is it time for my smurfday party? I can't wait to see what the others have smurfed for me."
"This smurf senses that you had an interesting dream while you were resting in wait for the birthday party to start," Empath said.
"You wouldn't believe the dream if I had smurfed you, Empath," Lazy said as he got up to join Empath and Smurfette in going to the party.
--------------------
VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4103 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
|
|
Vic George The ND Guy
Super Smurf
Member # 300
Member Rated:
|
posted 11-24-2023 05:15 AM
Tapper's Final Christmas
It was around the Christmas season in the year Tapper had turned 781 years old. Tapper had grown ill and weak in the months following his birthday, with his daughters Fiona and Meaghan taking care of him every step of the way while his grandson Nehemiah became the pastor of the Smurf Village Church. Tapper had lost his wife Siobhan some years before to illness, and he had a feeling that it would soon be his time to join his wife with the Almighty in heaven. Empath and the few Smurfs that remained of his generation kept Tapper company as much as they could, hoping that he would stay with them at least until the New Year.
Brainy was baffled as his friend was refusing any of his help to stay alive. "Empath, you've got to speak to him about allowing me to smurf my magic so that he doesn't have to die before his time," Brainy said, sounding very concerned.
"I know you only mean to help, Brainy, but Tapper insisted on relying upon the power of his Almighty to stay alive for as long as he can," Empath said. "Besides, you know that Tapper believes that sorcery is of the devil and will refuse to smurf any part of things that are not of the Almighty."
Brainy seemed a bit offended. "Well, if that's how he wants to smurf on from this world, Empath, then so be it. I'm not going to scold him and say that I smurfed him so if he's fully aware of the consequences of his decisions."
Grouchy, who at that point was going by the name Asher, was upset by the idea that one of his closest friends was going to pass away soon. "I hate seeing another of my fellow Smurfs passing away, Empath," he said during some time alone with his friend together.
"I know how you feel, Asher," Empath said, trying to sound comforting. "We lost Duncan McSmurf, which still hurts to this day, but at least you have the comfort of knowing you're going to smurf him again in heaven one day."
"Well, why don't you ask the Almighty to be your Lord and Savior so you can join us together when we leave this world?" Asher asked.
"I wish that I could, Asher, believe me," Empath said with some honest feeling.
"You know the truth of what Tapper's been smurfing you from Scripture, Empath," Asher said. "I just don't want to see you smurf from this world without knowing you're going to a better place."
"I will be happy knowing where you're smurfing from this life, Asher, and that will be enough for me," Empath said, trying to sound reassuring.
It was on Christmas Day that Tapper summoned his two children, his sons-in-law Natural and Slouchy, and his grandchildren together for one last prayer together. Empath watched as they formed a circle around Tapper's bed and joined hands while Tapper prayed in a weak voice.
"Oh Lord God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen, I thank You for the years You have given me as well as the children who will carry on in my stead," he prayed. "Smurf with them as they continue in this world to be your vessels of honor that they may fully smurf You in all things, that the gospel of peace shall continue to be smurfed throughout the whole world beginning in our Jerusalem, that everyone will come to know You as the one and only true God and their personal Savior. To my children, I say, 'May Jehovah bless you and keep you; may Jehovah make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; may Jehovah lift up His presence upon you, and give you peace.' In the name of Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ I pray. Amen."
"Amen," the family members said together as the prayer ended.
"Farewell, my dear Papa," Fiona said as she kissed her father's cheek. "May we see each other again in eternity when our time here is smurfed."
"My precious little treasure from heaven, don't grieve for me, for I know we will smurf each other at the time appointed to us, as long as hold smurf onto the promise of our Father in heaven," Tapper said, sounding assuring.
"Thank you, Papa, for smurfing me to know my Lord and Savior before you passed on," Meaghan said with some honest feeling.
"I know the road smurfing there was hard for you, my dearest little one, but all I did was smurf the seed and your sister watered it," Tapper said. "It was the Almighty that made the seed grow, the One you should smurf your thanks to. But if it counts for anything, it was my honor to smurf you into the Smurfette that you are now."
Empath watched as the family members tearfully embraced Tapper for what may be their last time together on this earth, knowing that this was just a temporary goodbye for they will see each other again in heaven. He felt a tear forming in his eye, knowing that he was going to lose yet another close friend in this physical life that he knew.
After the family members left, Empath joined Tapper at his bedside. "It seems ironic now that I must be the one who will smurf you comfort while you are smurfing there, waiting for your moment of departure, Tapper," Empath said. "It seems like yesterday that you smurfed to me when I was just a Smurfling visiting the village from Psychelia and you offered me a glass of sarsaparilla ale to make me feel like a Smurf."
"It seems strangely fitting that my passing from this world should happen on the day that my Lord and Savior has entered into the world as a man, Empath," Tapper said. "But then I am reminded that a person in Scripture named Simeon saw the Christ in the temple when His parents smurfed Him there to present Him before the Lord, that the Spirit told that man he would not depart from this world before seeing the Christ. I have smurfed the Lord face to face in my time travels, and I am fully convinced in what I have believed for years, even until now."
"But don't you worry about the judgment that is smurfed before you, Tapper, that you may be found to not have accomplished everything the Almighty has smurfed you out to do as His servant?" Empath asked.
"I know that I will be judged, my friend, but I do not fear, for I know that the Almighty has smurfed into my heart and has found me faithful," Tapper said. "Whether the entire village is saved or not, I have smurfed what Paul the apostle had said about himself before his passing: 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. Hereafter, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all the ones loving His appearing.'"
"Are you ashamed that I still have not chosen to become a believer before your passing?" Empath asked.
"The Lord has smurfed me what path you will smurf when I am gone, and I will leave it in His hands to fulfill when it is time," Tapper said. "But know this, that I have always loved you with the love that the Almighty has smurfed to me, and that I will always love you."
Empath nodded in understanding, finding himself feeling choked up in emotion. "I can sense that it is now time for you to depart, Tapper. I will let you join the Almighty now. Tell Duncan when you meet him there that Empath said hello."
"I will certainly deliver him the message, my friend, trust me," Tapper said with a slight nod.
Then a bright shining angel appeared in the room on the other side of Tapper's bed. "Naomhán, I have been sent to take your soul into heaven now," the angel said.
Tapper looked at the angel and smiled. "I know. I am ready. Farewell, my fellow Empath. And may God be with you."
Then in the next moment, the room glowed bright as Empath saw Tapper's soul depart from his body, standing next to the angel and holding her hand. And then suddenly in a flash, both the angel and Tapper's soul were gone, and his friend's body laid lifeless in the bed. Empath placed Tapper's hand back onto the bed, closed his friend's eyes, and wept for him.
In that moment of weeping, Empath remembered the words Tapper had spoken from Scripture: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
-----
At the funeral which took place after New Year's Day, the entire Smurf Village gathered around inside and outside the chapel to pay their last respects for the first Smurf among them who became a Christian. Tapper's body was given a proper embalming and in his coffin he was holding the first copy of the Bible which had been given unto him by the angel that met him years ago. There was hardly a dry eye as they heard Nehemiah preaching his sermon from the pulpit that he hoped would be encouraging to his listeners.
"I have a feeling the same words that my grandfather would smurf to us on this day would be those of Peter the apostle in his second epistle: 'For this reason I will not be negligent to always remind you of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up with reminders, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ made known to me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my departure. For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And we heard this voice which came from Heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we also have a more sure Word of prophecy, which you do well to heed as to a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that not any of the prophecies of Scripture came into being from personal exposition, for prophecy was not formerly brought forth by man's choice, but holy men of God spoke as they were propelled along by the Holy Spirit.'"
Nehemiah continued. "Six of my grandather's generation of Smurfs, my grandfather included, were indeed witnesses of the same Lord that I preach unto you today. They smurfed Him being put to death on the cross in the most exsmurfiating way imaginable, and then smurfed Him on the third day risen from the tomb in which He was smurfed. This event has forever changed the lives of those who witnessed this event personally, as their spirits could attest. My grandfather, who was undersmurfing doubt at the time this event smurfed place, was like Thomas, smurfed the very evidence of the smurfed hands and the smurfed side of the ever-living Savior, who Himself said, 'Blessed are those who are not seeing and yet are believing.'"
"Everything my grandfather believed about this Jesus, he tried to emulate to the best of his ability and through the aid of the Holy Spirit in his own life, to walk as He walked, to smurf the same miracles that He smurfed. My grandfather wasn't perfect, but he smurfed to make Jesus so real in his own life that others would smurf the Savior through him. And to this day many lives were touched and changed because of him, because being Jesus to us mattered more to him than life itself. We wondered why he wasn't like most of us Smurfs, why he acted so different, why he was so friendly when most of us weren't always friendly to him, why he wasn't afraid like most of us were of the giants of the land. This faith, this solid-rock faith smurfed on the solid rock of this Jesus Christ being the only begotten Son of God, the Christ, is what made him into the Smurf he was today. He is truly alive and in heaven waiting for the day when He will someday smurf up His Father's Kingdom upon this earth, and of His peace and justice there will be no end, and there will be no more pain, or suffering, or even death."
"The only question I ask today is: are you ready for the coming of the Lord's Kingdom? Have you smurfed your faith in the only true God who has loved you from the beginning of creation, who has created you and has given you a Savior who has died for all men and for all creation, the Christ who in the form of God did not consider clinging to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being smurfed comprised as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross? Make sure you smurf your peace with Him before it is your time to pass on from this world."
After the sermon ended, Fiona stepped up to the podium. "This is a song my father has smurfed to me and Meaghan when we were just wee ones, a song that he has smurfed every Christmas ever since until this day. I feel that it is only fitting that I should smurf this song that he will now only smurf before the Almighty in heaven." And so with Harmony's grandson sitting at the piano beginning to play the song, she sang:
I've heard about this baby boy
Who's come to earth to bring us joy
And I just want to sing this song to you
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
With every breath I'm singing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
A couple came to Bethlehem
Expecting child, they searched the inn
To find a place for You were coming soon
There was no room for them to stay
So in a manger filled with hay
God's only Son was born, oh Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
The shepherds left their flocks by night
To see this baby wrapped in light
A host of angels led them all to You
It was just as the angels said
You'll find Him in a manger bed
Immanuel and Savior, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
A star shown bright up in the east
To Bethlehem, the wisemen three
Came many miles and journeyed long for You
And to the place at which You were
Their frankincense and gold and myrrh
They gave to You and cried out Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
I know You came to rescue me
This baby boy would grow to be
A man and one day die for me and you
My sins would drive the nails in You
That rugged cross was my cross, too
Still every breath You drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah
After the song was over, Empath took to the podium to speak a few words. "My first memory of the Smurf I knew as Tapper, originally born as Naomhán Críostóir Smurf, was when he offered me a glass of sarsaparilla ale to drink during my first visit to this village years ago. I will never forget how kind and gentle he was with me when I didn't know how to express emotions. He reached out to people that he knew would never love him back, and he made their happiness more important than his own. He was always willing to listen to his fellow Smurfs and their various problems, to smurf a kind word of encouragement when it was needed as well as some good advice. I am forever glad for the life he chose to live among us, even with his Almighty guiding him every step of the way to become the very Smurf none of us could dream of living without. He did more than just pour out the drinks to us thirsty Smurfs, he poured out his very heart and soul unto those who were thirsty for that kind of love and kindness that they couldn't smurf anywhere else. And for that, I am pleased to know that he will receive his reward in heaven and be with his Almighty forever."
"Thank you, Grandpa Smurf," Nehemiah said as he took to the podium again and Empath returned to his seat. "As I close this sermon, let me smurf with you the words that were smurfed to John the apostle in the revelation of Jesus Christ: 'And he showed me a pure river of Water of Life, clear as crystal, going forth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. And they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. And there shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.'"
"That is the day that I and my family smurf forward to, and hopefully those of you gathered here today are also smurfing forward to on this day of days, when the Almighty receives back what He has smurfed unto us until the time of the resurrection of the dead. As my grandfather usually smurfs at the end of his sermons, I smurf unto you what was commanded unto Aaron the priest to smurf unto the children of Israel: 'May Jehovah bless you and keep you; may Jehovah make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; may Jehovah lift up His presence upon you, and give you peace.' In the name of Your only begotten Son Jesus Christ I pray. Amen."
"Amen," the crowd said together.
Fiona took to the podium again for a closing song:
We are a moment, You are forever,
Lord of the ages, God before time.
We are a vapor, You are eternal,
Love everlasting, reigning on high.
Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
Highest praises, honor, and glory
Be unto Your Name, be unto Your Name.
We are the broken, You are the Healer,
Jesus, Redeemer, mighty to save.
You are the love song we'll sing forever,
Bowing before You, blessing Your Name.
Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
Highest praises, honor, and glory
Be unto Your Name, be unto Your Name.
After the service was over, Fiona went over to Empath to speak to him. "I believe you had the privilege of watching my Papa be smurfed off into heaven by an angel in his final moments," Fiona said. "I doubt that he had smurfed any pain during his passing from this life."
"It was beautiful how he passed away, Fiona," Empath said. "I am sorry you didn't get to smurf it for yourself in the moment that it took place."
"I believe that the Almighty has smurfed this to you for a reason, that He desires you to be part of His eternal Kingdom," Fiona said. "He knows the pain you have suffered during your childhood and wishes to smurf unto you His peace, His comfort, and His healing."
"I know that He does, Fiona," Empath said. "I just wish I didn't feel like I was smurfing a grudge against Him for smurfing my life be the way it was when my Papa Smurf left me in Psychelia all those years ago."
"I will still continue to pray for you, Uncle Empath," Fiona said. "For however many years I may still have left to smurf, I will continue to smurf you the same kind of love that the Almighty has smurfed to me in the years that I have personally known Him."
-----
Later that night while he was sleeping, Empath had dreamed that he saw Tapper appearing in the prime of his youth in heaven, meeting a familiar face that looked like he was also in the prime of his youth. "Tapper, laddie, it's so glad to smurf you after all those years," that being said.
Tapper recognized who it was. "My fellow Duncan. How has your rest been in the Lord?"
"So far it's been peaceful, though I can't wait for the New Jerusalem to smurf down upon the new earth at the due time," Duncan answered. "How are Empath and the others?"
"They are as smurfy as ever, though I still long for Empath to join us here in Paradise when his time is finished," Tapper replied.
"That is something only the Lord will reveal in His time, laddie," Duncan said. "Come, share in the glorious feast of the angels as we wait for the smurfing of His Kingdom."
"Lead the way, my friend," Tapper said as both he and Duncan walked off together.
Empath smiled at the thought.
--------------------
VIC GEORGE -- Westfield, MA, USA
"Cat and mouse games really aren't much fun for us mouse types" -- Empath from "Empath The Bandit Smurf"
Posts: 4103 | From: Westfield, MA | Registered: Mar 2003
|
|
|
Subscribe to the BlueBuddies RSS Feed.