A conversation with the Devil part 4

DISCLAIMER

Please read this as fiction. This is me allowing my imagination to explore areas most people fear. I do believe the more we explore the depths of our spiritual being the more we can understand the love of our creator. Stepping away from what society has filled our minds with has given me a perspective of love I never had before. 

Remember this fiction, I love to write, I love to imagine.

Dale- good morning Devil thanks for meeting me on such short notice

Devil- no problem Dale you seemed anxious for some reason, what is going on

Dale- As you know I have been sharing some of our discussion with people and got an email yesterday that really had me thinking and I felt I had to call another meeting as quick as possible to get this off my mind

Devil- well ok let's have it

Dale- how do I know you are the Devil or Satan as you are called? 

Devil- how do any of us know anything Dale? You do not know who I am anymore than you know who Jesus is. I could be your ego, your depression, the bully next door,  your boss, the murderer, liar, or cheat, I can be anything or anyone you let your mind believe me to be. You humans are such a predictable bunch and so easily manipulated. I remember when I was working hard to convert Jesus over to my team, I would watch him interact with people and I was always amazed that even when they saw him in the flesh and he healed people or brought them back from the dead people still did not believe in his saving salvation. 

My point to this Dale is this, I am not sure I can convince you who I am regardless of what I say or do because you people no matter what you say or do still struggle to believe in Christ. 

Dale- How do you know we, the Christians, do not believe in Christ? 

Devil- oh my Dale just look around. There is enough hate, arrogance, and religious bullying going on in the Christian camp that makes my work simple. I can literally sit back and watch people do the work of Jesus one minute and in the next cast judgement over sinners the next as though they themselves walk on water. I see the indifference everyday from the so called followers or believers of Christ. If you recall Dale my goal was to rob people of their hopes, their dreams to the point the lose their self identity and no longer value life or who they are. There was a time my work was difficult because people truly did love and forgive each other. Thank goodness that is not the case anymore. I have a hard time figuring out who is on what team now so I just assume everyone is on my team. The Christians do a better job than I do robbing people of their hopes and dreams. 

Dale- slow down Devil, you are putting all Christians in this category as though we are all bad. That just isn't the case and you know it. There are great saintly people truly giving their lives to do the work of Jesus. There is love, there is forgiveness, and there is acceptance. Maybe I see what you chose not to see. I see hope, I see dreams being restored, I see a future filled with peace and love. 

Devil- I am not sure what world you see Dale or what dream you are living in. The future for mankind is at an all time low in my not so humble opinion. I see Christians fighting each other, I see people choosing material items over people, I see doctors prescribing drugs for anxiety and depression instead of helping people get well. I see families ripped apart because of political or religious affiliations. I see churches divide because the congregations can't agree on anything. Honestly Dale I see the fruits of my labor. I will give myself some credit here for helping stimulate the thoughts of people that has created so much division. 

Dale- you know you never answered my question, how do I know you are Satan

Devil- now you call me Satan, ok no problem. You want to know I am the Devil, let me ask you something first. Who do you think the Devil is? Let me see your imagination at work.

Dale- I think the Devil is evil who presides over hell, the cause of our darkness, the robber of love. I think the Devil is the entity that creates our doubt in the belief of Christ. 

Devil- that is a shallow description and one that preachers love to spout out, I like it even though it is not exactly accurate. Dale, I am nothing, I am nobody, I am who you create me to be. I am the one you blame everything own as an excuse because you can't accept your own humanity. Jesus tried with all his might to explain to humans that they are sinners, they were created with a sense of temptation and curiosity that sometimes caused problems. Humans needed a means to salvation and Jesus offered that. It was simple then and it is simple now. Love your neighbor as yourself, take care of the poor, help the sick, visit the infirmed, LOVE GOD. This is not complicated BUT you humans as you always do decided to take it to the extreme. You diluted the message of Jesus so much so that it lost it's meaning and value. 

Then it happened, you created the alter ego of love which is hate and I got labeled as that for some reason. People could not believe that they are natural sinners even though Jesus told them that and even though he gave his earthly life for that. So I step in and become the face of sin. The Devil made me do it became the human slogan. I was the face of hate, division, everything that people needed an excuse for. 

So to answer your question Dale, yes I am the Devil, and like it or not based on your description of me sometimes you are the Devil, your friends and family are the Devil. At any given time anyone can be the Devil based on your belief. 

Dale- Let me get focused again. I know I should not be asking you this but you do seem to have some answers. Why do you think we struggle so much to follow the true model of Christ?

Devil- You want me to give away my secrets? Ok no problem I will share this with you because no one will follow it or believe it anyway. 

Jesus honestly had and still has all the right answers. He truly is the son of the creator. Jesus was and is love in the truest sense. God the creator created humanity with a mind, heart, and soul, and the greatest gift was the empowerment of free will. That was the creation of love like no other. God did not want to manipulate his creation he wanted to love his creation to the point he allowed them to think and do for themselves. It didn't take to long to realize that there were problems with that creation. Not that God had any doubt or regrets but he did want to give his creation a model of true agape love that was easy to follow and that people would want to follow. Hence sending his son Jesus to live among us and show us love like no other. His model of love was so unique that it was difficult to understand why people were so scared of it. He brought enemies together, he forgave what society labeled as the worst sinners, he taught us how to love in ways we could all understand. Jesus did not want to exclude he wanted to include. His parables were always about bringing people together that society spread apart. Basically Jesus taught us to embrace our humanity, understand that we were all sinners, and how the power of forgiveness can heal all wounds that we DESIRE to be healed. 

Dale- wow you sure have me thinking Devil, I still struggle to understand who you are though

Devil- let me help you here and tell you what I am NOT that may help you understand who or what I am. 

I am not every bad decision, I am not every person that lies or cheats you, I am not the murder walking the streets or sitting in prison. I am not the evil imagination that you folks constantly label me with. I am the angel cast out from heaven that chose not to be forgiven by God the creator, I chose not to be loved and to love, I chose to conquer the world God created by robbing people of their dreams. All I have to do is create doubt in your minds and you do the rest. Dale, think for a minute about what I just said. I chose not to be loved or to love. I CHOSE just like you choose. Jesus chose the nails, I chose the hammer. I chose not to forgive or be forgiven, Jesus chose to forgive. Are you following me Dale. You have a choice to believe in me or to believe in Jesus. To believe me is to NOT believe in love or forgiveness. To believe in Christ, which  by the way very few truly do, is to believe in the power of love and forgiveness.

Dale- this is sad isn't it.

Devil- depends on your perspective my friend. It should be sad to you but remember I chose the hammer, what do you choose?

Well that concluded that segment of the conversation. As always I leave the table with more questions than answers. 

peace to you
Dale