There
is a legend that tells about the time when Ireland was ruled by a king who had
no sons. The king desired to have an
heir so he sent out his couriers to post signs with a very important message
all through his kingdom. The message
advised that qualified young men were being encouraged to apply for an
interview with the king as a possible successor to the throne. However, those who apply must have two
important qualifications. They must (1)
love God and (2) love people.
One
young man saw the signs and he knew in his heart that he loved both God and
people. However, he was so poor that he
had no clothes that would be presentable to the king and he didn’t have the
money to make the long journey to the castle.
The young man begged and borrowed until he at last had the money for the
appropriate clothes and to cover the expenses of his trip.
He
had been traveling for a number of days until finally he could see, in the
distance, the castle. Soon he would have
his audience with the king. In the next
instant the young man happened upon a poor beggar, sitting alone by the side of
the road. The beggar sat trembling,
covered only in rags. The beggar reached
out to the young man. He barely
whispered, “I’m hungry and I’m cold. Can
you help me?”
The
young man was so moved by the needs of the poor beggar that he immediately
stripped off his new clothes and exchanged them for the rags of the
beggar. Without a second thought he gave
the beggar all his money. And he helped
the beggar up and sent the poor man on his way.
At
first the young man thought he would turn around and go home. But he was so close to the castle. And he had no money to get himself back home
anyway. He decided to go ahead and meet
the king.
Surprisingly,
he was granted entrance to the castle.
He was escorted to the throne room and it was there that the young man
got the shock of his life. He looked
into the eyes of the king and exclaimed, “You…you were the beggar by the side
of the road.” The king nodded his head,
“yes.” The young man asked, “Why did you
do this to me?”
The
king replied, “I had to find out if you do love, if you really love God and
people. I knew that if I came to you as
king, you would have been impressed by my crown of gold and my regal
robes. You would have done anything to
impress me but I wouldn’t have known what was in your heart. So I came to you as a beggar, with no claims
on you at all. And I found out by the
way you treated me that you do love God and you love people. That’s what I needed to know. You, young man, will be my successor. You will have my kingdom.”
When
I first heard this legend, I couldn’t help by think of what is called the
Greatest Commandment in the Bible. When
Jesus was asked this question, he replied, “Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. And the second is like it:
Love your neighbor as yourself.”
When
you show love to your neighbor, you show your love for God. When you love God, you show His love to
others. So here’s your assignment for
today – love God! Your neighbor will be grateful.
From a "Wake Up With The Word" devotional written in 2012
