Between A and B - Episode 1

A said to B, "I'm filled with so much love for you that I want to lovingly change you into someone like me."

B thought for a moment and replied, "Thank you, but if that's love I'd rather be unloved."



A said with the sweetest smile, "B, you are a deviant, but you are also a child of God. So we love you with the love of God, and we will let you stay with us. But you will have to change into something like us eventually in order to continue to stay with us."

B considered A's smiling invitation and said, "I may be a deviant in your eyes. But in my eyes I am what I am. I'm not ashamed of being who I am. I'm not going to be a part of a community that is not comfortable with who I am."



A said to B, "You've got to be 1, 2, 3 and 4 to be a worthy child of the Most High. God loves you so much. But he is also displeased with your rebellious ways."

B said to A, "You see, I don't think I have to be anything other than myself to be a child of God. God who loves me also approves of me and all that I am, no matter how rebellious that may seem to you. God can accept me just as I am though you can't."



B said to A, "Will you scratch my back today even if I don't scratch yours?"

A smiled and replied, "Yes, today I will. But tomorrow you will have to scratch mine."

B said, "What if I never scratch yours?"

A said, "If that's your attitude then I will have to find someone who will reciprocate my scratching. Scratching somebody's back is tough enough. But if it's unrewarded it's even worse."



"Why do you follow God?" said B to A.

"Oh that's simple. I want to go to heaven" replied A.

"So, is that why you love God, so that you may get something from him?" B asked, then added, "If there was no heaven, would you still love God? If there was no reward, would you still seek God?"

A thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. I don't think so. This God-centred life is oriented towards achieving a certain goal. And if that goal cannot be achieved, there is no point in living this kind of life."



"You must run away from temptation. Whenever temptation comes knocking on your door just run out of that place" said A to B.

"Do you want me to be terrified of what tempts me? Do you want me to admit defeat by running away from it?", said B

"No, no. That's not what I'm saying. You have no chance against the temptation. The lusts of youth are way too strong. So you must run", said A.

B shook his head. "But what sort of overcoming is that? Should you not face the temptation until you overcome it? Should you not fall into it and discover the emptiness of it? Isn't it only then that you will be able to turn away from it?"

But A was defiant. "No, no, no! You must run away from it. That's the only way to escape from it."



A was dejected. He said, "God has not answered my prayer. He has not sent me financial aid. I now find it hard to trust in God's faithfulness."

"So what are you going to do? Will you stop believing in God?" asked B.

A shook his head. "No, no. I can't do that. If I stop believing in God, what else can I believe in? Besides God does answer some of my prayers."

"Why is that? Why can't God answer all your prayers? Is he not able to?" asked B.

A quickly replied, "Oh, that's a mystery. No one can figure that out. God answers prayers in three ways, viz, 'yes', 'wait', and 'no'. But the only kind of answer I want is 'yes' and when that doesn't come, it's hard going."



B said to A, "What sort of a God is a God who doesn't provide you what you need when you need it? What sort of a God is a God who does not respond to an urgent prayer? Should such a God be even called God?"

A smiled and said, "God doesn't always meet our expectations. Sometimes he doesn't work the way we would like him to work. But we must still trust in him. He's the only one that can be trusted."

B retorted. "But does he always live up to your trust? Does he always deliver what he promises?"

A shrugged. "We can't evaluate God like that. We need to trust in his unfailing judgement. If something we want doesn't happen, then we must give God the benefit of the doubt. He knows best."


- Samuel Godfrey George