The Day Daddy was Too Late...

[revrandy]

The family had just sat down to breakfast and there was an excited knock
on the door. Dad got up from the table and answered. There were some
whispers back and forth and when he came back to the table his face was
ashen. He said to those sitting at the Table "we need to pack for we are
leaving Egypt soon". His wife scoffed a bit and said, “Isn’t this just
another ruse like the last few times we have packed and then had to
unpack?"  

The Dad's face became more sullen when he announced that there was going
to be something happening on a scale as had not happened before.
He told them there was an angel of death coming to take the first born of
every family that did not have the blood of a lamb applied to the Entry of
every home. Then he got up from the table and went to work leaving a
family with shocked looks on their faces.  

After work he was stopped by a friend and asked if he had got the lamb
yet. He said, "no". There was plenty of time to find one later. He had
some things to do. He knew that time was somewhat short but he figured he
could do what needed to be done and then get the lamb. As he passed by
others on the way home from work he could see they had already bought
their lamb but he thought to himself, "I've got plenty of time to get what
I need and be ready".  

They were sitting at Dinner that night and his wife asked him,
"Did you get the lamb today?"
He got somewhat angry that she should question him
"No" he replied "But I will soon".  

His oldest son looked at him but didn't say a word. He knew not to cross
dad when he got home from work. He trusted that Dad would provide for them
when it was time. He trusted that Dad would make the right decisions for
them. He didn't have any doubt that his father would let him down. He
loved his Dad and Dad loved his time.  

Dad left the Dinner table and told the family I'm heading down to the
Inn.
Dad always did this after dinner. He would leave Mom to clean up and the
kids to play. He needed his time alone and the Inn had other things to
offer that his family couldn’t provide.

The Inn was a bustling place of
entertainment, things to watch and people to see. There often was a fight
and often women who would tell off color jokes. The Inn was a source of
rest for Dad who worked long hours and when he didn't want to deal with
the wife and the kids he would head for the Inn. He was enjoying his time
at the Inn so much he somewhat would forget or could forget what was real
and time would fly by.

Soon it would be night and then his youngest son
Eli would come and at times would have to drag his Dad by the hand out of
there. Other Times Dad would be startled and rush his little guy who had
come to get him out the room for what was going on there was too much for
the child to see but the child saw.  

Dad would get home that night somewhat pleased by the night's happenings.
He saw things at the Inn he never saw at home. He just considered it his
guilty pleasure but things never went as far as to cause him to join in.
He just liked to watch. He told himself he would never do the things he
saw at the Inn. He walked thru the door as usual and his little guy went
to his room and fell asleep. He went up to where his wife was lying tried
to rouse her but she was fast asleep. Just another night of the same he
thought. Tomorrow he would get up and go down to the where the Elders
gathered and forget the night.  

The first scream troubled him while he slept. He thought he was dreaming
then there was a second scream, a terrible blood curling scream, in the
night that went from two to a thousand. He awoke and listened to the
screams. Then his wife woke up beside him and said to him, "Thank you for
getting our lamb".  

He broke out in a cold sweat and could feel pain running thru his body.
He jumped out of bed and threw his clothing on as fast as he could. His wife
sensed something was wrong. He looked at her with despair and said,” I
forgot to get the lamb" She screamed at him,” HOW!!"  

He said he didn't know. He had been down at the Inn and while there it
made him forget all his troubles.  
"YOU GO TO THAT INN EVERY NIGHT!!" she screamed... "How could you
forget?"  

Their yelling woke up the kids....

He didn't have time to talk or explain. He knew the corral was a mile away
from where they lived. He ran as fast as he could all the while his wife
was screaming “WHY?”

As he was running he begins to curse all the time he spent at the Inn. All
the hours wasted. The times his sons would come to get him and he told
them to leave, that he wasn't ready to go yet. All the time he had missed
out on games his family had played and all the times he had to shoo the
kids out because of what they would see at the Inn. He cursed the Inn in
the night loudly.  

He got to the corral and there many lambs there but he couldn't see in the
dark. He had to squint just to make them out. He just picked one that he
thought didn't have spots and began to run as fast as he could back home.

While he ran he began to cut the lambs' throat. He knew that if he could
just get his hands bloody he could apply the blood to the door post of the
home and get back into bed and everything would be alright.  

He heard the screams getting nearer and nearer and could see his wife
standing at the door screaming for him to run. He ran for all he was worth
but he wasn't very fast. His time of sitting and eating at the Inn had
placed a toll on his body. He was fat and out of shape. He had gotten fat
at the Inn and again he cursed his time there. He screamed out against the
Inn.  

He got to the house and threw his bloody hands against the door post of
the home raking them and cutting them by the rough hewn wood soaking it in
the lambs blood and his own. He had made it and he would get into bed and
wake up and everything would be okay.  

He walked into his home and his wife was strangely quiet and tears were
dripping down her face. His oldest son was laying on the bed barely
breathing looked up and him and said, "Dad, you were too late to save
me".

The man dropped to his knees to beg God for mercy but mercy never came.
The next night the man was back at the Inn and his family was at home but
the oldest boy's bed was empty.  

Fathers don’t be too late... Make right Decisions now....  
What Television can provide for you today may cost you dearly
tomorrow...  

Just some thoughts...

[Theresa]

thought provoking post but the INN could be anything from a job to a forum...many things other than a TV...yk?

[SDG]

Shameless fear tactic ....

[revrandy]

Originally Posted by Daniel Alicea

Shameless fear tactic ....

Sorry I scared you...

[Pressing-On]

Originally Posted by Theresa

thought provoking post but the INN could be anything from a job to a forum...many things other than a TV...yk?

Yes, thought provoking. Perhaps anyone reading it could fill in the blank for the "Inn" in their life.

[revrandy]

Originally Posted by Theresa

thought provoking post but the INN could be anything from a job to a forum...many things other than a TV...yk?

Originally Posted by Pressing-On

Yes, thought provoking. Perhaps anyone reading it could fill in the blank for the "Inn" in their life.

You both are right... it could be anything that pulls our time away from our responsibilities to our family...

Television just seems to fit the bill more consistantly..

[seguidordejesus]

I was thinking internet porn would have been a better fit for the Inn.

[MrsMcD]

Great Story.

The question could be "What is the Inn in your life?"

[revrandy]

Originally Posted by Pastor Poster

Classic cult-like fear tactic used to impose one's will upon another.

or maybe some common sense...

[seguidordejesus]

I'm wondering what the blood had to do with anything. I see what it's trying to say.

Too many loose ends. Most pentecostal writers (that I have read) have a hard time making a logical argument...maybe it's our culture.