ChristChild
12-15-2007, 04:53 PM
He had entered this place of his own accord. When he'd done so it felt right, and he'd felt good about entering. There were many others here, and they partied with reckless abandon. He'd felt right at home as the people frolicked, and he'd joined them in their pleasure.
It had been a few hours and he'd finally gone to the extreme. His pleasure high had peaked, and now he was on its downside.
Suddenly, he remembered who he was. It was as though his mind had been blinded to the reality of just who and what he was, when he'd entered this place.
“How do they do that to me?” he wondered, as he looked around at the faces that were just moments ago his best friends. They seemed alien to him now.
“I... I have to get out,” he realized, setting his mind to the task.
The man looked for an exit, but the place was huge—he couldn't locate it. He moved through the crowd, as they tried to drag him back to where he was before. He resisted their influence, which only caused them to entice him more.
He pushed and slipped his way through the crowd, as careful as he could, so as not to upset anyone. They clawed at him all the more.
“Where the @#$% is the exit!?” After he thought it, he realized his crude language was influenced by those here as well. It was just another sign that he was where he shouldn't be.
As he passed through the crowd, the men taunted him for leaving, and the women displayed more and more flesh, trying to keep him at their party.
“This is insane! Where the @#$% is the door!?”
The crowd parted and an odd man stood before him. The fellow could have been his twin.
The odd twin asked, “Hello, friend, what's the rush?”
Ignoring the uncanny resemblance to himself, the man answered, “I need to get out of here. I need to get home.”
“Do you, friend? Haven't you heard that home is where the heart is? Isn't your heart really here--with us? It seemed to be while you were having fun.”
The odd twin had him there. Maybe the others didn't do this to him. Maybe he came of his own accord.
The man thought a moment before he answered forcefully, “I did, but it was... never mind, I just know that it's time for me to go!”
The odd twin just shook his head. He sighed, and then revealed, “Don't you know that you come here often? Sometimes you do manage a stretch away from us, but you always return.”
The desperate man felt crushed because he knew the odd twin's words were true. They caused him to feel a shame that had been lacking before. The shame brought his mind more into focus. He knew now more than ever that this place was just wrong!
Staring at his odd twin, the man asked him, “Do you know where the door is?”
“But I don't want you to go,” the odd twin said, and then he added with a sweep of his arm, “They don't want you to go.”
The crowd seemed to focus in on him again. The man knew he was on dangerous ground. He felt the dark power in their gaze and in the gaze of his twin. They had the power to turn him, he knew, but he also knew there had to be a way out—there had to be a door!
The man prayed. It was all he could think to do. He called out to the Lord and ignored the press of the crowd around him. Suddenly, he could feel them no more. His eyes were closed, as he prayed, while he just stood in the middle of the place—the dangerous place. Yet, suddenly, he didn't feel afraid any longer.
A still, small voice said, “I am The Door.”
And in that moment came his epiphany. He truly confessed and repented of ever entering the place. As he opened his eyes, he found himself drawn up and away from the crowd below him. He ascended into a portal of pure light, the Spirit filling him again, where before the Spirit was grieved.
The man now stood alone in his room, at his home, having just come back from the dark place he sometimes visited. The place that seemed, at times, bright and fun, but the place that eventually tore him up inside. It left him truly unfulfilled and hollow, and the more he went there, the more insidious the place became.
“I have to stay close to the Lord! I have to stay away!” the man thought fervently.
He knew the place was a cancer, and now he remembered its name, which hung as a neon sign from its ceiling. The sign read “Sinful Desire.”
Copyright(c)2007 D. Shane Burton
It had been a few hours and he'd finally gone to the extreme. His pleasure high had peaked, and now he was on its downside.
Suddenly, he remembered who he was. It was as though his mind had been blinded to the reality of just who and what he was, when he'd entered this place.
“How do they do that to me?” he wondered, as he looked around at the faces that were just moments ago his best friends. They seemed alien to him now.
“I... I have to get out,” he realized, setting his mind to the task.
The man looked for an exit, but the place was huge—he couldn't locate it. He moved through the crowd, as they tried to drag him back to where he was before. He resisted their influence, which only caused them to entice him more.
He pushed and slipped his way through the crowd, as careful as he could, so as not to upset anyone. They clawed at him all the more.
“Where the @#$% is the exit!?” After he thought it, he realized his crude language was influenced by those here as well. It was just another sign that he was where he shouldn't be.
As he passed through the crowd, the men taunted him for leaving, and the women displayed more and more flesh, trying to keep him at their party.
“This is insane! Where the @#$% is the door!?”
The crowd parted and an odd man stood before him. The fellow could have been his twin.
The odd twin asked, “Hello, friend, what's the rush?”
Ignoring the uncanny resemblance to himself, the man answered, “I need to get out of here. I need to get home.”
“Do you, friend? Haven't you heard that home is where the heart is? Isn't your heart really here--with us? It seemed to be while you were having fun.”
The odd twin had him there. Maybe the others didn't do this to him. Maybe he came of his own accord.
The man thought a moment before he answered forcefully, “I did, but it was... never mind, I just know that it's time for me to go!”
The odd twin just shook his head. He sighed, and then revealed, “Don't you know that you come here often? Sometimes you do manage a stretch away from us, but you always return.”
The desperate man felt crushed because he knew the odd twin's words were true. They caused him to feel a shame that had been lacking before. The shame brought his mind more into focus. He knew now more than ever that this place was just wrong!
Staring at his odd twin, the man asked him, “Do you know where the door is?”
“But I don't want you to go,” the odd twin said, and then he added with a sweep of his arm, “They don't want you to go.”
The crowd seemed to focus in on him again. The man knew he was on dangerous ground. He felt the dark power in their gaze and in the gaze of his twin. They had the power to turn him, he knew, but he also knew there had to be a way out—there had to be a door!
The man prayed. It was all he could think to do. He called out to the Lord and ignored the press of the crowd around him. Suddenly, he could feel them no more. His eyes were closed, as he prayed, while he just stood in the middle of the place—the dangerous place. Yet, suddenly, he didn't feel afraid any longer.
A still, small voice said, “I am The Door.”
And in that moment came his epiphany. He truly confessed and repented of ever entering the place. As he opened his eyes, he found himself drawn up and away from the crowd below him. He ascended into a portal of pure light, the Spirit filling him again, where before the Spirit was grieved.
The man now stood alone in his room, at his home, having just come back from the dark place he sometimes visited. The place that seemed, at times, bright and fun, but the place that eventually tore him up inside. It left him truly unfulfilled and hollow, and the more he went there, the more insidious the place became.
“I have to stay close to the Lord! I have to stay away!” the man thought fervently.
He knew the place was a cancer, and now he remembered its name, which hung as a neon sign from its ceiling. The sign read “Sinful Desire.”
Copyright(c)2007 D. Shane Burton