faithful believers remaining. Your Prince Darian was raised in the faith and remains a believer to this day.”
“And you?”
His wrinkled face formed a gentle smile. “I have always believed the prophecies to be true and am certain of what is yet to come.”
“How can you be so cer tain?”
“Garon’s very essence is pure goodness—He is utterly incapable of evil. He always keeps His promises. If He says something will happen, we can be one hundred percent certain that it shall ha ppen.”
“But those prophecies are so old. Are they even still relevant to those of us living in modern t imes?”
He gazed at her thoughtfully. “My dear, what many in your generation fail to recognize is that prophecy is nothing more than history written in advance. Garon does not idly sit by and watch human events as they unfold with the same limited perspective that we do. Rather, He can see everything that has ever happened and shall ever happen throughout all eternity just as if it has already taken place. Prophecy is timeless truth. It is not some trend or fashion that falls out of style down through the centuries, nor does it yield and evolve with the fickle fancies and fantasies of man.”
“But what if someone doesn’t believe in the prophe cies?”
“A person may believe whatever he or she wishes—it’s called free will, which Garon bestows upon all men.”
She stared at him bla nkly.
“Let us say, for example, that you loved Prince Darian, but that he did not love you. But then I tell you that there is a way to put a spell on him to make him love you. Would you d o it?”
She considered that for a moment. “I don’t thin k so.”
“Why not?”
“I couldn’t spend my life with some man knowing that he never had any real say in it. It would feel like I was holding him prisoner. I would want him to love me for me, not because he was being forced into lovin g me.”
“Precisely! Although Garon loves each person more than they can ever possibly imagine, He never forces anyone to love Him back. It is our choice to accept Him or not, and that choice is called free will.”
“Makes s ense.”
“Whether or not one chooses to believe the prophecies is up to that individual—it is a matter between him and Garon and is for no one else to judge. However, in life there are only absolutes. Either it is, or it is not.”
“But is life really that black and white? There must be some shades of gray.”
Smiling gently at her, he reached across the table and slid a jar of korrel sugar in front of her, removing its lid. Then he drank the last bit of water from his cobalt goblet and handed it to her.
“Your Highness, please hold this in front of your eye and keep the other one cl osed.”
She lifted glass up to her right eye, squeezing the left one shut.
“Now, look down and tell me, what color is the s ugar?”
“Well, through the glass, it appears to be blue. In fact, everything looks blue.”
He nodded. “Now I want you to imagine that you had always seen life through that blue glass. But then, one day, I tell you that the sugar is not blue, but brown. What would you say?”
“I wouldn’t believe you. I wouldn’t even know what brown looks like since everything in my world had always been blue.”
“Blue to you, but not necessarily true.”
“I don’t unders tand.”
“With the blue glass in front of your eye, you are viewing the world through a warped lens. Your own interpretation that the sugar is blue has no bearing on the actual truth of the matter. Just because there is something impairing your vision does not alter its rea lity.”
“Oh.”
“And so I ask you again, what would you say if I told you the sugar was actually b rown?”
“I might believe you, but only if I trusted you.”
“Exa ctly.”
“So?”
“So there is only ever one truth. Either I am deceiving you, or I am telling you the truth which would require faith on your part to believe what I say is true.”
She
“And you?”
His wrinkled face formed a gentle smile. “I have always believed the prophecies to be true and am certain of what is yet to come.”
“How can you be so cer tain?”
“Garon’s very essence is pure goodness—He is utterly incapable of evil. He always keeps His promises. If He says something will happen, we can be one hundred percent certain that it shall ha ppen.”
“But those prophecies are so old. Are they even still relevant to those of us living in modern t imes?”
He gazed at her thoughtfully. “My dear, what many in your generation fail to recognize is that prophecy is nothing more than history written in advance. Garon does not idly sit by and watch human events as they unfold with the same limited perspective that we do. Rather, He can see everything that has ever happened and shall ever happen throughout all eternity just as if it has already taken place. Prophecy is timeless truth. It is not some trend or fashion that falls out of style down through the centuries, nor does it yield and evolve with the fickle fancies and fantasies of man.”
“But what if someone doesn’t believe in the prophe cies?”
“A person may believe whatever he or she wishes—it’s called free will, which Garon bestows upon all men.”
She stared at him bla nkly.
“Let us say, for example, that you loved Prince Darian, but that he did not love you. But then I tell you that there is a way to put a spell on him to make him love you. Would you d o it?”
She considered that for a moment. “I don’t thin k so.”
“Why not?”
“I couldn’t spend my life with some man knowing that he never had any real say in it. It would feel like I was holding him prisoner. I would want him to love me for me, not because he was being forced into lovin g me.”
“Precisely! Although Garon loves each person more than they can ever possibly imagine, He never forces anyone to love Him back. It is our choice to accept Him or not, and that choice is called free will.”
“Makes s ense.”
“Whether or not one chooses to believe the prophecies is up to that individual—it is a matter between him and Garon and is for no one else to judge. However, in life there are only absolutes. Either it is, or it is not.”
“But is life really that black and white? There must be some shades of gray.”
Smiling gently at her, he reached across the table and slid a jar of korrel sugar in front of her, removing its lid. Then he drank the last bit of water from his cobalt goblet and handed it to her.
“Your Highness, please hold this in front of your eye and keep the other one cl osed.”
She lifted glass up to her right eye, squeezing the left one shut.
“Now, look down and tell me, what color is the s ugar?”
“Well, through the glass, it appears to be blue. In fact, everything looks blue.”
He nodded. “Now I want you to imagine that you had always seen life through that blue glass. But then, one day, I tell you that the sugar is not blue, but brown. What would you say?”
“I wouldn’t believe you. I wouldn’t even know what brown looks like since everything in my world had always been blue.”
“Blue to you, but not necessarily true.”
“I don’t unders tand.”
“With the blue glass in front of your eye, you are viewing the world through a warped lens. Your own interpretation that the sugar is blue has no bearing on the actual truth of the matter. Just because there is something impairing your vision does not alter its rea lity.”
“Oh.”
“And so I ask you again, what would you say if I told you the sugar was actually b rown?”
“I might believe you, but only if I trusted you.”
“Exa ctly.”
“So?”
“So there is only ever one truth. Either I am deceiving you, or I am telling you the truth which would require faith on your part to believe what I say is true.”
She
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