A Clash of Kingdoms

It seemed as if there was a dark shadow that shrouded his soul, and his eyes were haunted with fear when he came to join me at first light. The night shadows were still clinging to the trees when he crawled up into my lap and began to whisper his nightmares to me. I wrapped him securely in a blanket as much to comfort his heart as to keep the chill of early morning away. For a time I said nothing but simply rocked him, as together we watched the Sun conquer the darkness.

What was the source of this young boy’s nightmares? He had been exposed to evil. He had seen the power of darkness. I didn’t try to comfort him or try to lessen his fear by telling him that his fears were imaginary, instead I showed him a bigger picture. I had just finished teaching the book of Revelation. Because the book of Revelation is a series of visions, I had drawn them. I explained to him that the last book of the Bible tells us about the clash between two kingdoms. We looked at the pictures and I told him that though the kingdom of darkness was real and powerful that in the end there would be only one kingdom, the Kingdom of God. I also asked him which kingdom he wanted to belong to. He took a deep sigh and said, “I want to belong to the Kingdom of God.”

The next time he came to visit me he asked again if I would show him my drawings of the visions in Revelation. The word revelation means an unveiling. For this child who had been exposed to spiritual darkness, the unveiling of the Kingdom of Heaven brought him a sense of peace. Again he told me that he wanted to belong to the Kingdom of Light.

The last time I was with him was New Year’s Eve. I asked him if he would like for me to read to him the last chapter of God’s book. He was wearing the Christmas pajamas that I had given him. It was the last night of the year, and darkness had settled on the house when he once more climbed into my lap and I wrapped him in a blanket of love. As I read to him, together we looked with the eyes of our spirit and saw Jesus. And we heard His voice speak to our spirits saying, “Yes, I am coming quickly” (Revelation 22:20). As I tucked him into bed I whispered, “There is a clash of kingdoms, but in the end God wins.”

Sometimes your life intersect another life for just a brief moment. But if during that brief intersection you are able to whisper the truth and unveil a mystery, perhaps even a moment in time can bring with it eternal light.