The boys brought in
all kinds of plants into the
palace. Some were full of flowers, and some were full of fruits. In
all shapes, sizes and colours, all the pots were wonderful to behold
– with the exception of one. Some boys teased Ling for his empty
pot. Some felt sorry for him. Ling positioned himself somewhere
further away from the throne.
When the emperor arrived, there was complete silence. He greeted
the young people, "Welcome back to the palace. This is the day you
have been waiting for! I am seeing the fruits of your labour. Great
job! Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"
The emperor began to survey the whole room. He spotted Ling with
his empty pot at the back of the room. He ordered his guards to
bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "This is the end! The
emperor is going to punish me. I'm a failure! Maybe he will chop my
head off today!"
As Ling stood before the throne, the emperor asked for his name.
"My name is Ling," he replied. The other boys were wondering why the
emperor had
specifically summoned for
Ling. The emperor looked at Ling, and announced to everyone there, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe his ears. How could this be? His pot was
empty! Then the emperor explained, "One year ago, I gave each of you
a seed. To tell you the truth, all the seeds were boiled. It is
impossible to grow them. All of you except Ling have deceived me.
When your seed did not grow, all of you substituted another seed for
the one that I had given you. Ling was the only one who had the
courage and honesty. He brings me a pot with my seed in it.
Therefore, he is the righteous one who will be the new emperor!"
A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich
will not go unpunished (Proverbs 28:20). God is seeking for faithful
men. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the
outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
Our faith must be obedience-based and not outcome-based. God
promised to give Abraham a son. Abraham tried to create the outcome.
The result was Ishmael. Today, we are still witnessing the
consequences of that decision. But God was faithful, He eventually
gave Abraham Isaac. He still counted Abraham as obedient and
righteous.
True obedience is the only thing that matters to God. We are
called to do His will, and leave the outcome to Him. Some of the
faithful men and women, in Hebrews 11:39-40, had trusted God and won
His approval. But none of them received all that God had promised
them. God had better plans and rewards for them.
Jesus didn’t come down from the cross. His legions of angels
didn’t rescue Him. He died and was buried. But that’s not the end of
the story. The apostle Paul described Jesus in Philippians 2:8-11,
"He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even
the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him
and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on
earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
To the world, the crucified Christ was a failure. But to God, the
crucified Christ was a success. Jesus Christ is named Lord of lords
and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen,
and faithful (Rev 17:14).