The Bird Cage

The story below is worth sharing,
One Easter Sunday morning, a pastor in a small New England town placed a rusty, old bird cage on the pulpit. Several eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, the Pastor began to speak...

"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this old bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, “ What you have got there son?” “Just some old birds,” came the reply. "What are you going to do with them?" I asked.

"I going to take them home and tease them, pull out their feathers and make them fight. It’s going to be fun," said the boy.

The pastor said, "You'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?" "Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll give the birds to them."

The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?" he asked. The young lad looked at the pastor and said, “Why, you don't want these birds, mister, they nothing special, just plain old field birds, they don't sing, they aren’t even pretty!"

"How much?" the pastor asked again.

The boy shook his head and said, "$10.00" The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. In a flash, the boy took the money and was gone.

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and set the birds free.

Well, that explained the empty birdcage on the pulpit. Then the pastor began to tell this story.

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation.
Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. " I’ve just caught a world full of people. I set a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist and I got them all!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

Satan replied, "Oh, I'm going to teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm going to teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other.”

"And what will you do when you get done with them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, I'll destroy them," said Satan.

"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.
"Oh, you don't want these people. They’re no good. They have no integrity, no ethics. Why, if you take them, they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you even kill you! You don't want those people!"

"How much?" He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and said, "All your blood and tears."

"DONE!" said Jesus, And He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage, he opened the door and he walked from the pulpit.

Something to think about isn’t it? Are we worth it? What’s the price we must pay to be free? This story isn’t really about religion – it’s about integrity, self worth and ethics. We all have to pay the price for freedom, we recognize that keeping people caged won’t work…………the doors are open, now it’s time to fly! Let’s make sure we soar high, experience new heights and explore new opportunities. Someone has given their life for us to be free.

Donna Messer
Time to Fly! ©