LOVE LIKE HIS - Chapter 40 - CHOICE - The Final Chapter Of An Original Story by @papa-pepper
LOVE LIKE HIS - Chapter 40 – CHOICE
The department obviously did not make attending this funeral mandatory. Besides Gary and Ray, there were only about a dozen people that even bothered to show up for this final farewell to the body of Detective Timothy Cromwell.
It’s amazing to consider that after all of his hard work and all of the cold cases he had cracked, very few people even interrupted their normal schedules long enough to “honor the dead.” Perhaps it was his attitude and demeanor. Perhaps it was his lack of real care for other people. Perhaps it was because he had committed suicide.
So many people seem to avoid the subject of death anyway, and seeing such a “successful” man in his work take his own life in such a way was probably more than a lot of people really want to consider.
An older woman shuffles past the headstone and spits on it before storming away.
Gary and Ray have never seen anything like it. They had both assumed that she was some sort of relation to the deceased detective, and although that could still be the case, especially since he did take his own life, it now seems much more likely that Cromwell had put away her son for some sort of crime. After all that the detective had put these two through, they wondered if the man was innocent.
They decide to leave and begin to walk back towards Gary’s car, resuming their earlier conversation.
“I can’t believe that he would actually do that. Especially after the things that we tried to share with him. I thought that God was using us in his life,” Ray begins.
The two don’t even know how gracious God was with the detective that night, or about the misfire and second chance.
“Well,” Gary begins his obligatory response and then finishes formulating his answer, “I think that God did use us in his life. He only knew us for less than a week, and I think that our actions backed up our words when we shared about God’s love and forgiveness, despite man’s wickedness.”
“Oh, so it was like one last exposure to the truth for Cromwell?”
“Basically. We know that God loves everyone regardless of their sin. We know that they have all chose to lie, steal, and everything else that God hates, yet, through Jesus he has offered forgiveness. But, he will never force anyone to receive that forgiveness, or to choose to love him in return. Love can’t be forced.”
“But don’t you think that he knew God was real? Don’t you think that he ever felt guilty for his sin? I mean, I know that people can sear their conscience so that it doesn’t really work anymore, but he must have known, right Gary?”
“Truthfully, I think that everyone knows God is real. Some people are just more comfortable pretending that he doesn’t exist.”
“I’ve kind of thought the same thing before. I mean, why else would atheists completely freak out every time they see the ten commandments or a cross somewhere? If it’s all ‘make believe’ then who cares? However, if it is just a reminder of the truth, and someone is trying to live a lie, then it becomes a problem.”
“Wow, Ray! Good insight. That does make sense. Ultimately, I believe that God has made his presence clear to all of mankind, and every man in the world knows that he has done wrong. Much like Cromwell, they try to justify it or point at the other guy, but they know. All God can do is offer to forgive them, but in the end, it’s their choice.” Gary pauses long and hard, reflecting on the choice that Detective Cromwell made.
“Just like with the detective, everyone is free to choose to do anything that they want, even blowing their own brains out, but God just wants them to choose him. Which one sounds better to you?"
THE END OF LOVE LIKE HIS
Until next time…
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Was it an accidental tragedy, or a meticulously devised murder? That's exactly what Detective Timothy Cromwell is determined to find out. To many, he's the best of the best and it seems that the cases too tough for others to crack stand no chance against his expertise. This time, though, it's different.
A widower has embraced the very one who killed his wife in such a peculiar and suspicious way, all the while claiming to simply be following the teachings of Jesus Christ. Is it a sincere tale of supernatural love and forgiveness, or the perfect cover up to a sinister murder? Soon, Cromwell will find out just that.
@papa-pepper God's love is unconditional. He first loved us despite that of all our sin. He still lovr and forgive us when will come back to Him. He never want us to die eternal death that was why He sent His son to defeat sin and death and to redeem us and adopt us to sonship through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks for this post. I learnt some lesson in there
Amen.
Good morning, I could never believe you poseses this talent at well.. so proud this coming from you: you God continue to bestow on you Windom to do more; as long as you acknowledge and appreciating him: you will be Increase in more wisdom and he will grant you ability to continue telling others the goodness of God.
Thank you @davidad. Please let me know when you get your package.
Such a great read!
pretending he does not exist makes me laugh, i have got the idea it is the other way around. :-) But my background will be ever so different as yours. :-) I come back to that later if i may, have to bring my car away first.
Sure. Thanks for checking it out.
I never knew that there were so many strict believers in America, i found that out with finding my family in the UK. My story starts somewhere in the 1890 where my great great grandmother left with her 9 children , grown ups with own children as still skirt binders, to this land far far away it took a few weeks i think to be on a boat. They left to grand rapids. We never saw them again, only my great grandfather who stayed behind as only child because he was in love with my grandmother and she did not want to emigrate. My great great grandmothers name who came to US Adriaantje Filius. (same as my mums) and many in us. Why did they leave, the village they came from is ever so sweet, on the water, very small and everyone knows everyone, a warm community that fears the lord ! They had to go to church where they got to hear that all the rotten things on their path was deserved for the mistakes gods children made and we all still have to pay for. The pression about the church was so strong, with such strong rules it was not livable, a bit like Amish but still worse i think... My granddad 96 when he died, saw 4 children die, and his wife my grandmum was only just 70. He said it was the price he had to pay for the mistakes humans did, even had understanding for it ! He had radio in his hous in 1970 and church scrapped him out of church community, but when children died the man in front of the church still had to point out he searched al this problems him self. You also never would reach heaven ! you could deserve a better place yes but heaven never, we did not deserve that. 3 times on a sunday to church with a hat on our heads , a skirt, and black stockings. But to get back to my great great grand mum. On FB i started searchin for FILIUS in America and i found a lot, some that i only already reconized by face ! that is fun ! Talking with them and forming a group, i found out how much they were still believing ! that were there great great mum run a way of became for so much family still their reason to live . I do not understand honoustly i can not . The mountains were weeks on fire , but the day it started snowing it was praise the lord ... uh ?? sorry who started them fires and why did he let it go on so long ? The same story with the sunami the survivers , oh praise the lord ? Why have we got so little confidence in our selves? Praise our selves will even make us try to do more instead of believing and hoping , start knowing and doing. I realise i better could have written a blog because 1000 things jump up in my head now. sorry ! but thx for your time .
The Lord lives inside of each of us if we reject our sinful nature and cling to Him!
sinful nature ? what is your sinful nature? I have no idea what mine are.
Haha! I appreciate your willingness to talk about the issue. It can be hard sometimes to see eye to eye, but really seeing eye to eye is not important - understanding the philosophical can open our minds and our hearts in many ways.
First I would encourage you to try to be open to a symbolic interpretation of these topics - I will try to walk through one such interpretation now.
Today it is accepted that man is an evolved creature, that evolved from a shared relative to modern day apes. Man is a beast, or was at least. We have instincts, and opposeable thumbs, but we also have something more. Rational thought, maybe, a concience - perhaps! Even athiests say they are humanists - I'm not sure animals would consider themselves zebraists or lionists or anything more than survivalists.
So humans have that something more - and throughout our largely oral development of philosophy we have created ways of communicating the decision to reject or leave behind the animalistic, 'all-for-me', greedy survival instinct, and instead to accept the divine christ inside of ourselves - the very same something more that makes us humans and not beasts.
There is no need to literally talk to bearded man in the clouds for this to be true, God may be a woman, He may have shaved today, he may be an equilateral triangle - he is not actually a person like you and me, He is a symbol.
You might see him as a symbol, and who was jesus than? Son of a symbol ? The whole story about jozef and maria? And the 3 wise that came? I think it would be good to stick hands in own pockets to take the complements being a good persons, and also take the blame when caused your self, by mistake or on purpose. Do not put it down to god will or his ways are endless, start all showing that god than that you all know and behave like it. And that is the part that is so annoying, when any of thus sounds or feels wrong it can be due to my english, i do not want to speak without respect about believing, i just want more knowing. We seem to learn very slow, even mistakes out of the past we still pray to change in situations now, and when it does not go like you prayd for, we say god wanted it different. This can be a comfort but it is also so layed back, and a hidden sign of disrespect. But i am sorry to started tjis on papa peppers post. I do love his story up to chapter 12 now
It is a great story!
Jesus is indeed the Son of a Symbol - his power - indeed the incredible power of all MYTHOS - does not come from the details - the number of wise men nor the names of his parents nor the species of barn animals accompanying him in the stall.
I would argue that historicity has no role in philosophy - what matters is what was done - indeed what IS - the divine sacrifice covers our failings and gives us purchase to recover beneath infinite grace and become better humans - stronger souls.
It sounds like they had a pretty strict religion, which is nothing like what I have in my life, and I certainly wasn't raised that way.
I am not so sure about that, but there could be.
Basically, I lived a very godless life with a lot of drugs, alcohol, sex, and the rest, not really caring about anything but myself and my pleasure. Here is a video and a post where I share more about it;
https://steemit.com/steemit/@arbitrarykitten/a-conversation-with-papa-pepper-part-2-from-hedonist-addict-to-inspired-family-man
I thank you for speaking so openly and freely about things like this.
@papa-pepper Another talent of yours that I was not aware of! :) Not too shabby I say... and I don't generally like fiction :) I am more of a "self-help" kinda reader... probably because I need all the help I can get. hehehehe :)
If you started this from the beginning, I think you'd be hooked. Maybe I could send you a paperback sometime in the future.
@papa-pepper Sounds like a rather generous plan :) but yeah... really enjoyed it - and I could use the links though surely? I could do with a little daily escape...
I'll try to do a full post about the entire volume tomorrow.
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very good post
I am glad you think so. What was your favorite part?
nice post and helpfuly