Prisoner At the Bar

Lawrence stretched and yawned. He was tired after spending all day studying for his upcoming law exam. He snapped his law book shut and headed for his room. As he collapsed on the edge of the bed, his eyes fell on the Bible his parents had given him. It was pretty dusty. He recalled his mother's words at the time. "Read this every day, son," she had said."It will help you. Listen for God's call." Lawrence rolled his eyes. His mother was sure he needed saving. Sure, he made mistakes, but he was a pretty good person. He snorted. Who needed saving? He was fine! He flopped out on the bed, closed his eyes, and within a short time drifted off into a deep sleep.....

"You there! Up on your feet!" The harsh voice made him open his eyes. He sat up and looked around, astonished to discover he was no longer in his room, but in a cell. "What?" he queried, puzzled. "Up!" roared the stern guard outside the door. Lawrence rose and came over to the door as the guard unlocked it. As soon as Lawrence stepped from the cell, the guard grabbed his arm and marched him down a long hallway to a big wooden door. He flung the door open with a crash and pushed Lawrence into a room filled with solemn faced people, some in black robes and some in white robes. Lawrence had no time to take it all in before he was dragged across the room and uncerimoniously shoved onto a platform surrounded by three railings. It stood directly across from the bench where a tall, solemn, sad looking Judge sat. Lawrence could not for the life of him figure out what was going on.
"Your Honor,"spoke a mean faced man in a long black robe, as he got to his feet and brandished a thick file."The prisoner at the bar is a criminal! He is a wretched human being! You read his record. He is a terrible lawbreaker!" "I am not!" Lawrence cried, gripping the railing before him until his knuckles turned white."I have never broken the law! I am innocent!" The Judge eyed him sadly. "Enough, Lawrence Williams,"he said firmly. Then to the mean faced man, "Mr. Stanton, what witnesses do you have?" "I would like to summon one of my most trusted workers, Your Honor," Mr. Stanton replied, waving his free hand. An odd looking fellow dressed in black came scurrying up to the witness box. Mr. Stanton stepped forward. "Will you please tell this court what you witnessed the prisoner doing?" He requested. "Well,"the odd fellow replied."I was watching him carefully and I can say he has told a lot of lies, he cheated on his entrance exam, he has rebelled against his parents, he has assaulted several of his acquaintances, and-do you want me to continue?" "No, that will be all," Mr. Stanton told him. The odd fellow fled back to his seat. "Well, Your Honor," Mr. Stanton said triumphantly. "Have I made my case yet?" "You're getting there," the Judge said calmly. Lawrence shuddered. How did these guys know all that!? Mr. Stanton called a few more witnesses, and they repeated what the odd fellow had told them. Finally the Judge looked at Mr. Stanton. "Are you finished?" He asked. "Not yet,"Mr. Stanton replied. He fastened gleaming eyes on Lawrence. "I want to call the prisoner at the bar to the stand!" Lawrence swallowed hard and made his way slowly to the stand. He sat down and waited. "Mr. Williams,"Mr. Stanton said."Do you or do you not claim to be a good person?" "Yes I do,"Lawrence replied. "Even though you lie, cheat, rebel, and beat people up?"Mr. Stanton asked. Lawrence winced. He was seriously going to have to rethink his claim! "Well, I-I guess,"he stammered."I mean, I can mess up, I suppose." "Do you deny you lie?" Mr. Stanton's eyes gleamed even more as he asked the question. "Well, no,"Lawrence said slowly."I mean, I have lied." "And do you deny you cheat?"demanded the prosecutor viciously. "No, I don't,"Lawrence answered, starting to seriously regret his actions. "Did you assault your friends?" Mr. Stanton was relentless. "Yes, I did,"Lawrence said sadly. Mr. Stanton continued to demand answers from him until poor Lawrence could no longer stand it. "Okay! So I'm a criminal already!"he yelled."What are you going to do to me?" Mr. Stanton looked triumphantly at the Judge and said in a smug tone,"Your Honor, I rest my case. He confesses he is guilty, so you know what that means. You know the penalty for his crimes." "Yes,"the Judge said sadly. His eyes went to Lawrence, and the young man eyed him fearfully. "Lawrence Williams, the nature of these crimes is terrible, abominable, and unspeakable. They call for nothing less than the death penalty." The Black Robes in the room were grinning from ear to ear in wicked amusement, certain that Lawrence was done for. The White Robes looked as solemn and sad as the Judge. Mr. Stanton looked quite pleased with himself. Lawrence had had all he could take. "No!!!"he wailed, falling to his knees in the witness box."No, please! I'm sorry! I know now I have done wrong and I'm really sorry. Please, have mercy on me, Your Honor, have mercy on me! Even though I know I don't deserve it." He hung his head and cried. No one moved or spoke. Then a gentle hand rested on his shoulder and a voice said kindly,"This man has done wrong, but I will take the punishment. I will pay the penalty." Lawrence raised his head and looked up into the kind face of the man who had spoken. "But I did it!"he said."I am guilty!" "Yes, but now you are free to go,"the man said softly."I will stay and pay the penalty for you." Lawrence looked at the Judge. The Judge gazed fondly at the the man, who, in addition to being a kind and compassionate person, was also his son, then he looked at Lawrence. "Lawrence Williams,"he said loudly."I hereby find you NOT GUILTY!" Lawrence was pulled to his feet and led towards the door. The Black Robes sat in open-mouthed stupor at this turn of events while the White Robes grinned and laughed and shook hands. Mr. Stanton threw a fit at these proceedings. "I had him!"he yelled, his face nearly purple."He was mine!" The thick file he had held so tightly and carefully throughout the trial now went flying high in the air. It opened, and a torrent of loose papers rained down gently upon the heads of the observers. "This is not fair!"he screamed. The Judge threw him a stern look and he folded his arms before slamming himself into his chair. Lawrence was now at the door, and he paused to look over his shoulder. He saw the kind man being led away. He closed his eyes and whispered,"Thank you."........

BANG! Lawrence bolted upright, eyes wide. He found himself on the floor, his backside attesting to his fall from bed. He looked around. "What? It was all just a dream? It seemed so real!"he said aloud to himself. Then realisation dawned on him. "But it IS real!" He grabbed for the dusty Bible and opened it to the passage his mother had specifically marked for him. It was the story of how an innocent Man, the Son of God, had died for the guilty. He had paid the penalty for their crimes. Lawrence drew up to his knees and rested his head on the edge of the bed. He wasted no time in pouring out his heart to God in confession, and accepting and thanking the One who had died for the real 'prisoner at the bar'. When he rose from his knees, he grabbed the phone and called his parents. He waited impatiently for them to answer and when they did, he could not contain his joy. "Mom! Dad! I just gave my life to Christ!"he fairly yelled into the phone."I'm so happy and excited and joyful and-wow, you guys won't BELIEVE the dream I had!"

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