The Power of Christ is Compelling

"Jayron, what are you reading?" Krystal asked telepathically.

I was laying in bed in the Pokemon Trainer suite in the Pokemon Center, looked up from my pocket-sized New Testament to see the Absol looking at him from where she lay at the foot of the bed. Krystal had curiosity in her life-filled red eyes.

I didn't answer right away. I stared back down at the book in my hands for a long moment, thinking hard about what I should do.

"Jayron?" Krystal asked, sounding a little concerned, looking embarrassed for asking.

I made my decision, nodding a determined "yes" to myself,and asked my friend, "Do you know who Jesus is?"

Krystal blinked at the question. She closed her eyes in thought and replied, "I . . . I think so?" She wrinkled her nose as she thought harder. Then she opened her eyes and shook her head slowly, "I'm not really sure. . ."

I nodded just as slowly and said, "Krystal, you know that God is perfect, right?"

Krystal shrugged, "Yes. I suppose God would kinda have to be perfect."

"Well. . . the thing is. . . nothing else in the world is perfect. Not no nobody, not nohow."

Krystal just stared at me, looking unsure as to where I was going with this.

I continued in a serious tone, "So, you can kinda imagine that it'd be kinda impossible for something that's imperfect to associate with something that's perfect. I mean, it just wouldn't happen. There's this great divide between the perfect and, well, everything else. It's actually kinda disturbing when you think about it. I mean, what happens after we die?"

Krystal frowned, and she had a look of uneasiness to her.

I tried my best to give a small smile in-spite of the sudden dark tone I had invoked, and I continued, "The good thing about all this, is that God saw all this coming. He knew all of this in advance. He cares about everything He created. He doesn't want us to be apart from Him. He loves us. So, He made plans to bring us together with Him."

Krystal raised her head, and then got up from where she lay curled up and was soon sitting on her haunches, now very invested in this conversation. "What did God do?" she asked.

"Well, he started by laying a ground work. Stuff that we would all need later. Things to look back on. He chose people to show people back then and in the future important things to learn from. He made laws to follow, traditions to carry out. He had people make sacrifices to Him. But you know what it all really was?"

Krystal didn't answer. She just nodded her head, silently asking me to give her the answer.

"IOU's," I said, much to Krystal's surprise, "Band-Aids. They didn't really solve the big problem. All the things people do, the selfish actions, the mistakes, the words they say, the lies, the hateful thoughts; it all added up. The fates of so many still hung in the balance. There was still a huge debt that needed to be paid. But, after so many years, the stage was set. God was ready to do what needed to be done."

Krystal's eyes had widened a bit. She was breathing with her mouth open. Her body became tense with anticipation as she asked, "Come on, tell me! What did God do?"

"He became a man."

Krystal's jaw dropped, "Wha- How? I don't under. . ."

I nodded and explained, "He came into the world as a baby, and grew into a normal looking man named Jesus. Of course, He was still God. He told people who He was, He performed miracles, He healed people who couldn't walk or were blind, He explained how He could forgive the all of creation. Many people believed and followed Him. However, many others didn't believe. They resented Him. Many didn't want their believes challenged. Some were corrupt. Others felt threatened. So, Jesus was betrayed, mocked, spit on, and whipped until His back was torn up. And He quietly let it all happen to Him."

Krystal was shaking her head and saying, "No, no, no. He couldn't have let them do that to Him? How could they, after all He did. Maybe He said some amazing things, but still. They tortured Him? And He. . . why?"

"He had to. It was all part of His plan. It's what He came here to do. Then, after all that, He was killed."

Krystal straight up gasped at this. "Killed?"

I nodded gravely, "Yeah. Actually, I think executed was a better word."

"Executed?"

"Yeah. He was crucified."

Krystal seemed to be caught off guard by the word. "What is . . . that?" she asked cautiously.

I hesitated a moment before answering, not sure if I should go into the details, but then I realized that every detail of this story was important in the long run. So, I swallowed hard and said, "Normally, it's when they tie a person to big wooden cross in a certain way and break their legs so that they can't breathe and suffocate. But they made it even worse for Jesus by nailing his feet and hands to the cross, and making him drink vinegar, and then stabbing him with a spear."

Krystal's whole body was shaking. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her right forepaw. "That's . . . that's so. . . how could anybody do that to anyone!?"

"Yeah," I said yet again as I felt the emotions build up inside me. It hurt to see Krystal react like this, but I just pushed through it. When you got down to it, this was more important than anything, something Krystal needed to know at all costs. So I continued, "And the worst part is that all of that was just symbolism for what He really had to do."

Krystal uncovered her face and looked at me in utter bewilderment. "What!?" she asked.

This was the most important part, and perhaps the hardest. So, I got out from under the covers and moved over to where Krystal sat. Sitting close to her, to her right, I continued my explanation, "You see, Krystal, anyone can get tortured and executed. But Jesus came to do more than that. He came to pay that debt. To take care of everything all of Creation ever did and ever will do. When He died, He had to pay for billions and billions of people. People already dead, people alive at the time, and people who weren't even born yet. All of those punishments. Billions and billions of punishment. The debt of all of creation, focused on God Himself."

Krystal's eyes widened wider than ever. Her mouth hung open slightly as she tried to comprehend the magnitude of what she was being told.

"It took Him three days to get through it all. I'm not really sure where exactly Jesus was during that time. My best guest would be Hell, or at least something like it. But He did it. He suffered through it. All of it."

I gave her a sincere smile and said, "But, just dying for it wouldn't be enough. He had to show that it counted, that He had the capacity to pay for it all, that the debt had been really paid off. He had to prove his authority and qualifications to do that. So, after the third day, He came back to life."

Krystal gasped.

I nodded, "He spoke to His followers, traveled around a bit more, and then in full view of them, He ascended into Heaven, knowing that it was finished. Knowing that those He loved so much, so much that He would die for them, could be saved."

"Wow. . ." Krystal said softly, "He went through all of that. . . more than anyone could ever imagine going through, just to save us from . . ." Krystal felt a shudder run through her body, ". . .that. . . all because he. . . loved. . .us. . ."

"Yes, Krystal. That's right. But, that's not the end of it. Not by a long shot. There's still something we have to do."

Krystal cocked her head in confusion, "We do?"

I began to slowly pet the back of Krystal's head with my left hand as I explained, "You see, Krystal, what Jesus did, was a gift. And a gift isn't any good if you don't accept it. It doesn't matter what's inside if you don't take it or never open it. In order for our debt to be paid, we need to accept and open it."

"First, we have to acknowledge that the gift is real and that we need it. We need to have faith that Jesus did die for us, and that He did rise from the dead. We have to admit that we're sinners just like the rest of creation, and that we need this gift, and that we're hopeless without Jesus. Next, we have to recognize Jesus as our God and Savior, otherwise the gift would be meaningless. And with that recognition has to affect our lives. It's actually very logical. If someone pays off our debt, we should do our best not to make it bigger. Sure, we'll probably fail and make mistakes, that's the reason Jesus sacrificed Himself in the first place. But we have to make a conscious effort to do what is right to show that we return His love and appreciate what He did to us, and sincerely apologize when we fail and never give up. If we didn't, well then, our faith is pretty much worthless."

I stopped petting Krystal and laid my left hand gently on her right forepaw, "So, in the end, by accepting His gift and living the live He wants for us, we can live in hope and peace in the present and the future."

Krystal was silent for what felt like 15 minutes. She just quietly looked down at the blanket, apparently thinking over everything she had been told. Eventually, she looked up at me , then turned to where I had left my pocket-sized New Testament and pointed at it with her left forepaw and asked, "And that's all written in there?"

I replied truthfully, "That's actually a pocket version of the second half of the Bible. The full Bible is an ancient book written by many eyewitnesses. Devoted people have carefully copied and translated it over the years, and it's been reprinted for everyone around the world to read. The Bible talks about events, gives lessons, and when all is said and done, everything in it points to Jesus."

Krystal looked me in the eyes. I needed no excuse to admire those amazing red rings. Then, after another moment, Krystal said, "Is there anything else I need to know?"

With a growing warmth and excitement in my heart, tempered by a touch of nervousness, I got up, went over to my bag, and took out my complete Bible. Then I sat back down besides my best friend and said, "You've got all the time I can give you."

My heart was pounding just as hard as Krystal was, and my eyes were moist with tears of joy. Hearing her pray that prayer with me was an experience unlike no other.

The Absol's head was down, and her eyes were still closed, as if she were afraid to open them. However, they were soon forced open by her own tears of joy.

"I feel. . . I feel. . ." Krystal said, overcome by the purest of emotions.

I held her close and tight as he said softly, "I know, Krystal. I know. . ."

We sat like this in silence, just enjoying the feeling of fellowship we were having with each other. I then noticed that the clock said 1:28 A.M., and I realized how long we had stayed up. Krystal had a lot of questions, and I was telling the truth when I told her that she has all the time I could give her. It didn't matter how long it took, all that mattered was the end result.

"I should have told you about Jesus sooner. I just wanted to wait for the right time. I'm so sorry, Krystal," I said.

"It's okay. God gave us the right time, didn't He?" Krystal said with a smile, her tears no a little more under control.

I smiled back, "So, that it then, isn't it?"

Krystal nodded and said, "Yeah. We're both saved."

We sat at the foot of the bed, silently holding each other for a few more minutes, then Krystal noticed the time and remarked, "Heh. Guess we're sleeping in tomorrow, right?"

I just had to chuckle, and I replied, "Right. Of course."

And so, hearkening back to the night when Krystal was first able to talk to me, we lay together on the bed, hugging warmly, united together in something that truly is eternal.