Love's Unyielding Quest

Love's Unyielding Quest A true story

Abasiama Akpan

Love’s Unyielding Quest

Abasiama Akpan

To God, My exceeding joy, My parents, Elder and Deaconess N. I. Ette, My husband, Idorenyin James Akpan and, My blessings from God, Joseph, Nathan and Perez, my sons.

What is it about this work of creation that holds other creation in captive awe?

From the moment this mortal was made, the immortals have been thrown into an unending battle of control.

Choice— the ability to choose is this mortal’s greatest asset, a fatal asset that can destroy him.

While the immortals engage in this unending war, man must choose.

Good.

Evil.

But Love never fails, and as far as He can see, He’s already won.

Which side are you on?

The Risk, The Rebellion, The Choice.

Love … does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking.

—1 Corinthians 13:5b (Amplified Bible)

One He sat on His throne and looked about Him as angels scurried and hurried, His will to fulfill.

He was unceasingly exalted, adored, worshipped.

All-powerful, all-knowing, all-sufficient. self-existing, immortal, Supreme Being.

In all His glory, in all His majesty, the Almighty Being had a need.

He had a need!

The all-sufficient Being had a need.

Was He bored?

Was He restless?

Did the angels notice Him pondering?

Did they try harder their Master to please?

Was the praise louder?

Was it quiet?

Did they wonder about His Majesty’s faraway look?

As His mind worked out a formidable plan, did He call for silence?

Did He retire to a quiet place?

Did He write out His plan on a scroll?

Did He scream, “Quiet”?

Did He call for a recess?

Did He peep into time?

Did it cause Him to sit on the edge of His throne what He was about to do?

He had an idea.

He had this grand idea.

He’d been pondering over it.

It had been gathering force in His mind.

He knew the risk involved.

He calculated the cost.

He saw the cross.

He felt the pain.

Still the idea grew stronger.

This all-sufficient Being had a need.

And He knew just how to fulfil this need.

His name is Love.

His need was someone to love: someone who would love Him. Love’s idea was someone like Him: someone in His image.

Love could not, would not contain Him. Love needed to express Himself.

Love set to work to bring His thoughts to being.

He set the stage, He created a place, a home for His idea.

A place of communion, Eden lacked nothing good, for Love saw that everything He made was good.

Two Among the angels was one created with such perfection, beauty, and filled with wisdom.

He looked on as God created His wonders.

He was anointed a guardian cherub.

His name— Lucifer, son of dawn, star of the morning.

The stage set, the record of time began.

The moment had arrived.

Love gave voice to His idea.

Silence!

Did heaven wonder at its Master?

Did it cross their minds, And could they have questioned “Can heaven no longer contain Him?”

Did they gaze and gape at Him in awe as He went about creating wonders out of nothing?

Did heaven stand on its feet as its Master called the conference of the Trinity?

Were they gripped with anxiety as they lingered to discover what the Master would do with this awe-inspiring work He had done?

Did they whisper among themselves, “What will He do with this new kingdom?”

Did they think to themselves, “Maybe it is a new kingdom for us?”

And when He spoke those words, did the angels weep?

Did all creation contemplate their importance when Love said, “Let us …

Let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion”?

Dominion!

Dominion?

Did the angels cry?

Did they conjecture?

“What and who is this being of whom He speaks?”

Did they contemplate His motive?

Did they ask, “Is this why He has been brooding?”

Love made man an image of Himself, someone like Him, and Love gave …

God is Love.

His idea was man.

Love took the risk because Love knew— having foreseen the pain, having mapped out His plan— Love knew this would be an eternal, unconditional love affair.

Love needs to be expressed.

The expression of love is in the giving.

Love has never been known to manipulate.

Love does not seek to control.

Love is freely given.

Love is freely received.

Love gave man a home and everything man could ever need.

Love gave him breath and life.

He saw in man the same need He had: a need to love and be loved.

Love took a risk, made man in His likeness, gave him dominion, and loved him freely.

In His selfless way, Love gave man the right to choose: the right to choose Him. The right to choose to love Him or not to love Him.

Three Among the angels broke out a rebellion, for wickedness was found in one.

And in him was found violence and sin.

Lucifer, the son of dawn, sought to be equal with his Master and, sowing his seed of rebellion in the hearts of angels, was banished from heaven forever.

In him was pride, for he was beautiful.

His wisdom corrupted him.

His Master threw him to the earth and with him all in whom he had sown his seed of pride.

He was reduced to the dust of the earth and cursed to a horrible end.

What made him think he could be the Master?

What made him wish to be like the Most High?

Did he long to rule and reign in this world?

As he looked on at his Master’s work, did he hope?

Did he expect to be given dominion over it?

Yet he was anointed guardian cherub!

Did he consider it an insult?

Was it an affront to his exalted position as daystar?

He ranted and raved and got intensely jealous and sort to usurp authority.

O son of dawn!

O daystar!

Have you any regrets?

Do you wish you had learnt contentment and found satisfaction in your post as guardian?

O rebel!

Cursed, disgraced, banished by the One whom you once served.

What gripped you?

What took hold of you?

Was it the thought of someone else taking your place in your Master’s eyes?

It was man, wasn’t it?

O unhappy spirit that wished to be served rather than to serve!

Masquerade of light!

Fallen angel!

Lucifer!

Doomed forever on that fateful day when your Master said, "Let us make man in our own image …”

Expelled, disoriented, He called an assembly of his fellow angels, fallen angels filled with anger.

They cried, “Deceived!

We were deceived!

Where is the power we were promised?

Where are the thrones?”

They laughed at Lucifer and themselves.

They wished to God they had learned to serve rather than attend to Lucifer’s idle talk.

They wondered, “What drew us to him?

Was it his beauty?

For he has lost it.

Was it his wisdom?

For we can see its sheer foolishness.

We have been banished to this darkness till eternity, an O Lucifer!

What fate awaits us in the end?”

There was an uproar as many expelled angels blamed and picked on Lucifer for drawing them into falsehood.

Finding themselves without their Master, their anger rose.

As the depth of this deception began to sink in, they rose as one to destroy him who destroyed their destinies.

Four Satan ran away to hide.

He sought an object on which to pour out his fury, For as soon as Love gave the first rule to man, Lucifer appeared on the scene.

Despised by his fellow angels, Lucifer deserted them and went roaming.

To and fro on the earth he wandered, searching for something to destroy.

But he could do nothing, for he had no dominion over the earth.

Nothing on the surface of the earth obeyed him.

He had no power over them.

But man did. Â He watched man go about his Love-given duty faithfully, serving the Master whom he had refused to serve.

He looked with painful longing as man fellowshipped with the Master whom he once adored.

He eyed this mortal being who had been given an immortal soul and dominion— the dominion for which he had lost his position.

He looked at this work of clay with disgust and disdain and sought for a way to bring him down.

Time passed, and the day arrived that man would be put on the spot.

It was one of those days when Love waited in longing anticipation for the moment to arrive when He would have His time of communion with man.

Man was about his Love-given duty of dressing and keeping the garden. and the woman …

What was the woman’s duty?

Roaming the earth on this day, the opportunity presented itself, for Lucifer happened upon the woman and found the answer to all his troubles.

At last!

He would prove to his Master and the fallen angels that he was indeed wise.

The woman was Love’s gift to man.

The woman’s duty was to help man.

And help him, did she?

Was the woman idle?

Was she fiddling with her hair?

What was the woman doing?

For as long as the man did his work, Lucifer left him alone.

What attracted him then to the woman?

Well, it happened that the woman was accessible and Lucifer struck a conversation with her.

In his subtle manner, he chose the known face of a base creature to make his deceitful argument: good and evil.

Obedience.

Rebellion.

The woman was left to choose. Â And so it was that the woman saw the tree was good.

It was desirable.

She made her choice.

Yes, she took the fruit.

Yes, she ate the fruit and also gave to the man.

And the man ‌ Pause!

Think about Love!

Did He look on as Lucifer and the woman spoke?

How did He feel when she betrayed Him? Why didn’t He call out?

Why didn’t He prevent her?

Why didn’t He strike the Serpent?

Remember, Love’s Word is His bond.

Love would not go back.

He had decided: man had the right to choose.

The woman did eat.

She gave to the man, and the man ate it too.

If Love thought man would stand up for Him, was He surprised that man did not have to think?

When the choice was set before him, man stood by his wife.

Silence!

Silence must have reigned in heaven.

The earth must have felt it too.

The angels held their breath while Love looked on.

Had He foreseen?

Man had made his choice. Â When it was time, and as was His custom, Love arrived to commune with man.

But the man and his wife hid themselves.

Knowledge had set in, The seed of sin sowed caused the creation to hide in shame from his Creator.

All the earth looked on.

How did the rest of creation feel?

The one who was given dominion over them had failed in his duty.

What did the angels feel?

Disgust?

Disdain?

Pity?

What?

Yes, what did heaven think of man?

Did they say, “The only time Love said it is not good He went and made a woman”?

Love came down.

His plan unfolding, He called out to man, “Where are you?”

Here was man’s opportunity.

He had another choice to make, to admit he was wrong, to repent of his wrongdoing.

And you would think he did!

Man— now wise— accused.

Did man not know?

Was he not aware?

Man knew Love is holy.

If he didn’t, why was he afraid?

Man knew he had sinned.

If he didn’t, why was he ashamed?

Man knew Love would not behold sin.

If he didn’t, why did he hide?

But man accused.

Love set before man the opportunity to see his wrong, an opportunity, perchance, to repent.

For Love indeed knew what had transpired.

Yet He asked the question, “Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten from the tree, of which I asked you not to eat?”

Why do you think Love asked the question?

Did He ask the question to ask the question “Man, you have disobeyed me; you chose wrong. Are you sorry?”

Was He asking man to please reconsider?

Was man too afraid to think?

Did fear cause him to accuse?

Rather than accept that he was wrong, man chose excuses over repentance.

Why do you think Love asked the question?

Did He ask the question to ask the question “Man, you have disobeyed me; you chose wrong. Are you sorry?”

Was He asking man to please reconsider?

Was man too afraid to think?

Did fear cause him to accuse?

Rather than accept that he was wrong, man chose excuses over repentance.

He accused his Maker to excuse himself: “The woman you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.”

What an example man had set, for no sooner had Love asked the woman the same question than she accused too: “The Serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

The plan unfolded further, and Love would not have it.

For Love is holy, Love is true, and Love would have none of it.

He would send them off, yet He made a sacrifice.

Not considering that man had failed him,

Love took the time to make coats of skin to clothe them.

As the curtain of separation fell, putting a partition between man and his Maker, Love acknowledged, “Man is become like one of us to know good and evil.�

Good and evil became constant sources of worry.

Man daily had to choose between the two.

The End

The Prodigal’s Petition

I still pray, though I know I’ve broken your heart.

Words I say, things I do, they drive you away.

I still pray, hoping that you will still love me.

I pray that you won’t walk away.

I pray that you will never leave me.

I pray your love will never turn sour, like friends that leave when things go wrong.

I pray you’ll stay forever with me and help me be the person you want me to be.

I’m still here praying that you’ll truly forgive everything that I’ve done to drive you away.

I’m still here hoping that you’ll open your arms.

I pray that you will take me back.

I pray that you will never leave me.

I still pray, ’cause deep down I know I can’t run this race all by myself.

And I still pray you’ll walk with me and help me be the person you want me to be.

The Pursuit, The Pain, The Betrayal.

Love endures long and is patient and kind.

—1 Corinthians 13:4a (Amplified Bible)

One Lucifer returned, filled with pride.

He summoned his fellow rebels.

“An assembly of gods,” he declared.

He had obtained dominion and a kingdom where they could reign together.

A place where mortals would serve them and creation would do their bidding.

They came, one and all, awed at this newfound power.

“I am Lucifer,” he announced, “and I have the keys of life and death.”

One rose in doubt to challenge him: “How did you obtain this key?

What evil have you wrought upon us again?

And shall the Master come to destroy us from this forsaken and cursed place where we have been banished to suffer forever?”

Lucifer rose, in disgust and pride, and declared, “I am now the god of this world!”

Throwing his arms about, he affirmed, “This is my kingdom; I shall make you princes if you pledge allegiance to me.

To me!”

The fallen angels saw the power indeed, for man had lost it when he chose to disobey his Maker and yield to the guile of the Serpent.

“Hail Satan!” they cried in a loud voice.

They knew he was a deceiver, and they would be his fellow deceivers.

So the kingdom was shared and Satan was declared their lord.

Two Heaven was quiet.

Earth moaned.

Man plowed.

Cursed!

He had a new master, Yet he longed for his Maker whom he had betrayed. Â His dominion lost, the earth would no longer yield to him.

The ground was cursed because of him, and all creation would eye him in disgust.

He was cursed, as Lucifer once was.

He was banished, as were the fallen angels. Â It was no little rejoicing in the gathering of gods, for they imagined themselves now equal with their Master.

It did not occur to them that what they claimed was gotten not by conquest but by deceit.

Their new authority and kingdom still belonged to the Master.

For though Satan had obtained the right to rule, the earth still belongs to God.

Did Love retire?

Did He give up?

Unrelenting, persistent, Love would look through the veil, yearning to be involved, yearning to help.

But no one would call on Him. No one sought Him. Time passed, all creation fulfilling their purpose, and men began to multiply.

They fathered sons and daughters.

And as they increased so did the choices they daily had to make.

Good.

Evil.

So great grew the evil that Love refused to struggle with man.

For He saw man was only flesh, His days only a few.

Love saw how great the wickedness of man grew.

For the knowledge of good and evil gave way for Satan and his demons to pervert man’s every imagination and cause the thoughts of his heart to be only evil.

Love felt sorrow.

It grieved His heart that He had made man.

Think of Love!

How great that sorrow must have been!

How deep the pain!

The hurt!

The disappointment!

Angels watched with disgust as men treated their Master with total disregard.

They heaved a sigh of relief when He finally did away with them.

Three “A mighty flood!”

He declared.

“Do away with them!” He screamed in fury.

Angels scurried and hurried as their manner is.

“To the floodgates!” the guards commanded.

Did they stay their hands for a moment?

Did they wonder if He would change His mind?

Did they wait for a nod before they released the waters from their boundaries?

Or did they run with delight?

At last!

Did they cry with joy?

Or did they go about this duty with solemn hearts, Feeling their Master’s pain?

Their Master was unhappy.

They could not understand Him. “What drives Him?” they pondered.

“How can He be bothered about these people?” they wondered.

Could they feel what He felt?

Did they try to cheer Him, these ministers of His? Could He be cheered when the work of His hands— His work, which He had poured Himself into— was being destroyed?

He was angry, yet He loved.

The earth was destroyed with water.

Love destroyed the work of His hands.

Yes! He was the Maker.

Yes! His had the right to do as He pleased with what He had made.

And all of creation would be destroyed because man had fallen.

The demons summoned an assembly.

“A gathering of derelicts,” they called it.

“Princes with no kingdom.”

But Satan pointed to the ark.

“He left a remnant.

There lies our future,” he declared.

The flood subsided; the waters receded.

A covenant established, the rainbow gave sign: Never shall the earth be destroyed by water again.

But the stain of evil stayed.

Evil persisted as times and times passed.

Satan and his demons were determined to show the Master and the world indeed what havoc they could wreak with their newfound power. Â Men sought to exist on their own terms.

Babel they began to build.

Love confounded the languages of men and scattered them across the face of the earth.

Love would focus His eyes on a man: Abraham and his seed, forever. Â Love chased, Love chose, Love pleaded, Love intervened.

Love was vexed, Love was accused, Love was ignored, Love was confused with idols, Love was wearied.

Love made laws; His laws were broken.

Love showed mercy; His mercy was abused.

Love was patient; His patience was drawn out.

Love delivered man; man enslaved himself.

Love was slow to anger; man drove him to anger.

Love would love man.

Man made Him jealous, bowing to the things he created.

Love gave of himself.

Man remembered Love only when he was in trouble.

Still Love would save man for His own sake.

And Love would do it again, and again, and again, for His own sake.

Even so, evil persisted.

Man sought Love but not with a perfect heart.

Love looked on; Love implored.

When man was afflicted, he sought Love.

Love would point out man’s sins; He was ignored.

Yet Love offered help when man sought Him.

He sent judges, He sent prophets, He sent kings, and even man’s enemies, perchance man would remember Him. Love called for man to reason with Him; man forsook Him. Love was weary with repenting.

Still, man would dare to ask Love to save him for His name’s sake.

Love did just that.

No sooner would He show man His goodness than man repaid Him with his evil ways.

For man’s heart was more prone to evil than to love.

Man drained Love with his evil ways.

Man gave Him so much trouble that He returned to His throne and waited for man to acknowledge his sins and to seek Him. “Maybe in their distress, they will seek me,” He said.

Love had promised not to strive with man, but He could not hold back.

Love had to be expressed.

Love ran after man.

Man ran away from Love.

The proof of love was in the pursuit— the constant, persistent, unchanging, forgiving, healing, unyielding love He gave.

In spite of man’s failings, in spite of man’s denial, in spite of the fact that man would have none of Him, Love would give man all of Himself.

The End

Gratitude

Not just for those great things, oh God, but also for those things that I sometimes take for granted, I stand here now to say thank You.

Not just for those blessings, oh God, but also for salvation, Your mercy, and Your grace, I stand here now to say I love You.

I love You because You first loved me.

Your love is great; it’s greater than I’ll ever know.

No matter what I’ve done, no matter where I go, it always finds me out.

It brings me back to You. I can never go that far from You.

The Revelation, The Redemption, The Reunion.

Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

—1 Corinthians 13:8a (Amplified Bible)

One In the fullness of time, Love looked at His plan unfolding as He had orchestrated it.

Yes, choice existed, and man had chosen evil, still He loved man.

He thought about him constantly and gave Himself no rest in His pursuits.

He summoned a council of the elders, and all of heaven was assembled before Him. He had a plan, a rather painful one.

He had laid out all His cards.

The only one left: His Son. "Your Son?” they said in unison.

Astonished, knocked for six, there was no reasoning with the Sovereign One. They had no such luxury.

His ways are perfect.

They bowed in worship.

His Son stepped forth, a grave look on His face.

He looked at His Father, and He understood.

He knew what His Father felt; He also had the same need.

He and the Father are one.

They needed a family.

They looked at each other with love while all of heaven looked on.

Did the angels understand the beauty of this moment?

Did they perceive the gravity?

Did they understand the price to be paid?

“I will go, Father.

I will pay the price.

I will build the bridge and bring man to you again.

I will destroy the works of Satan.

I will take from him what he stole from man, and I will establish your kingdom on earth.

I will return to man his lost dominion.

I will set for him an example of what it means to love you.

Truly love you.”

“My Son, the price is high indeed: Your life to satisfy the law, My law. I will be with you."

"Glory awaits you.

I will glorify you.

Only bring man to me again that I may have a house full of sons."

“Let them understand it is for Love and for Love only that they were created.

I take pleasure in them, but they do not seek me.

I prepared a way when Adam failed me.

You, my Son, are the Way." "Every man must come to me through you, for you are perfect And I love you.

In you, I shall accept man."

“I cannot behold sin.

I should destroy humanity again but for the sacrifice of Noah.

Yet all these sacrifices have failed to restore our broken relationship."

"It is for a perfect sacrifice that I send you.

Go, once and for all, bring me the ones I desire.

For though they are rebellious, I still yearn for them.

Though they are sinners, I love them.�

Two “He loves them!” the angels marveled.

“For love, He would sacrifice His Son? The Master will sacrifice His Son for love!”

The news traveled through heaven, and angels were in awe of their Master.

They pulled the curtain of separation to look at man, the one for whom their Lord would be sacrificed, and they failed to understand.

“How could He love them?

How could He love people who do not acknowledge Him, people who pay Him no attention?”

A proclamation was made throughout heaven: “Prepare the way; let the prophecies be fulfilled!

Make ready!

The Lord of Glory descends to dwell among mortals.

The Creator of man shall be called the Son of Man.”

Duties were assigned; angels were sent on missions to the earth.

Mortals ,chosen before the beginning of time, were notified of what part they would play in making ready for Love’s Son. In the dark dungeon of Sheol sat Satan with a great frown.

“Has He lost His mind?” he mused.

“Has the Master finally lost His mind?”

He thought it was sheer foolishness.

Why would the Master send His Son to the earth as a man?

“Oh, that I could be at the great assembly to learn the Master’s motive!”

His Son! He had never fully understood the Son. He was one with the Father, so He had the Father’s power.

“Aha!” He let out a full-bellied laugh.

It came out like a growl.

He jumped up from his raggedy throne.

“Assemble my princes!” he called to the guard.

“Let them know that the time has come And as I purposed in the beginning, so will it be, and soon too.”

From the four wings of the earth they gathered— fallen angels, grown fat on the blood of sinful men, dragging in souls of the dead throwing them at their master’s feet.

Kings, queens, princes, and ordinary men.

Men who gave in to Satan while on earth, men who ran after the created and forsook the Creator.

The rich, the poor, the self-righteous, the guardians of the law.

The powerful, the weak, gathered from all walks of life, forever doomed to serve Satan and his princes.

“Away with them!” Satan cried.

“I have called for a most significant assembly.

Lock them away in the cages.

I shall visit them when I please.”

As they were led away to the darkest corners of the pit, he screamed, “Stop!”

Bring him to me, the tall one!” he cried.

Satan descended his worn-out throne.

He stood before the lost soul, twice as tall.

He regarded him with contempt as the man stood quavering.

“I know you, oh, I know you.

You made me miserable in your youth with your prayers and devotion to the High Master.

“But I am patient, oh, very patient!

And when you thought nothing could move you, your pride gave me just the opportunity I sought.

I knew your weakness.

Ah, great man of God,” he mocked, “you shall serve me from now on.

You shall be my personal servant.

Take him away!” he bawled.

All the princes laughed, and it echoed down the corridors of darkness.

Prisoners trembled, for they knew that a gathering of the princes was the most dreaded of all things evil.

Satan told his princes of the news.

“The Son comes, to the earth, He comes.”

“What?” they yelled.

“What madness do you speak of?

Impossible!” they wailed.

“For where the Master shows mercy, the Son shows none.”

They bemoaned their fate.

“Oh, miserable of all creatures!

Our end has come, and what shall become of us?”

“Oh, you of little faith!” cried Satan, “Do you not listen?

He comes as a man.

A mere mortal!

His glory He leaves behind.

Here is the opportunity we have longed for.

We shall offer Him this kingdom in exchange for the Master’s.”

“You speak like a fool,” cried the doubtful angel.

“He shall do no such thing.

I am afraid our reign in this kingdom shall soon come to an end.”

“Enough!” Satan bellowed.

“I warn you not to raise tempers long forgotten.

You have pledged allegiance to me.

And need I remind you, I make the rules.”

“What plans do you have?” one of his princes asked.

He sat on his seat, carelessly.

His stance one of total disregard and clear disdain, Satan ignored him and sat on his throne.

“We are one in intent,” he slowly announced, “our fate the same and sealed forever.

If the Master sends His Son as a mortal, we shall unite to bring Him down.

We will destroy Him. But first, we aim to gain heaven.”

Their minds worked fast as Satan spoke.

They imagine reigning in heaven as princes.

It would be far better to be served by angels than by mortals, to walk the streets of gold, and have willing servants.

On earth it was quite difficult indeed; though they reigned, mortals were not willing servants.

One had to work hard to get them to obey.

“Oh, to reign in heaven!� they fantasized.

Nothing was worth comparing to the absolute enchantment of gaining the throne of light.

Each envisioned if Satan could overthrow the Master, then they could destroy Satan and gain control themselves.

Such was the ambition of the assembly of evil.

And Satan knew fear like he had never known before.

Three In the forsaken town of En Nasira, A young virgin stood in a shade avoiding the heat of the afternoon sun.

Satan passed by as he traveled the earth.

Beholding her, he stopped to look.

Here was purity, so rare.

He had been around long enough to spot a corrupt mind miles afar, but she radiated such incorruptibility.

He suddenly felt a powerful presence.

An angel appeared from nowhere.

“How did he arrived unannounced?” Satan wondered.

He hid behind a barrel of water and looked as the angel approached the virgin.

Gabriel saw him but ignored him.

He had seen him on several occasions.

Satan was a coward; that he knew for sure.

He had always itched to destroy him, but the Master had other plans.

Satan recognized him.

“Gabriel,” he hissed.

He looked at his arm.

The long, ugly scar Gabriel’s sword had drawn brought back fearful memories.

The last fight was enough to put the fear of this great angel in him.

He concluded, “The message must be of grand importance if the Master bothered to send Gabriel.”

With great delight Gabriel announced the Master’s plan.

The startled virgin accepted the part.

She would bear Love’s Son. He would save man from sin.

The angel left, and Satan stretched.

He squinted, looking harder at the virgin.

He still could not understand how it would happen, but he had never understood the Master.

He decided he had nothing more important to do than to stay.

He must see this for himself.

It would do no good to assign one of the princes.

He dare not trust their wicked minds.

He found a corner in the shed without and made himself snug.

The virgin’s betrothed came by to find his beloved pregnant.

Satan watched to see what he would do and found an opportunity to end it all.

For what he saw was quite frightening: the Great Spirit had overshadowed the virgin.

Satan fled, for where the Spirit was, there was no room for him.

When he returned, he knew—the Son was within her.

“The way she glowed and sang and ran about like an excited fool!” he thought to himself.

“Did she know whom she carried?

Was she aware of the enormity of what was within her?”

He could feel the Son watching him.

He dared not go near, for though he could not see them, he knew he was surrounded by the Master’s army.

No need to gain any more scars on his once-beautiful skin.

Over time Gabriel had left enough scars to render him ugly.

He longed for the beauty he once had, the beauty that Gabriel now had.

For no matter how hard he fought, Gabriel always came back without scars.

“No,” Satan decided; he would use the virgin’s betrothed.

So Satan suggested he stone her.

“That is the law,” he reminded him.

“Make it public and do it now, lest you be accused of a crime you did not commit!”.

The betrothed thought to put her away quietly.

He loved her and could not understand why she had betrayed him so.

She tried to explain, but his heart was broken, he could not bear to behold the face of deceit.

“How could one so pure be so wicked?

She had been innocent,” he was so sure.

“Had she been raped?” he tormented himself.

“But she did not look traumatized.

Who was responsible?”

His heart cried, “Murder!”

He would kill the man responsible once he lay his hand on him.

“Tomorrow,” he said.

Tomorrow he would demand an answer.

Four Satan thought he had never seen a grander fool.

“What an idiot!” he wanted to scream.

“Raped?

Idiot! She carries the Holy One! Oh, foolish mortal!

What ill fate has befallen me!

Oh, to deal with such ignorant creatures!”

Dismayed, he tried once more to persuade the betrothed to destroy her.

“Disgrace her in public,” he pleaded.

“Do not break the Master’s law.

Oh, mortal!

Obey the Lord thy God and live.”

Oh, that he could slap some sense into man!

He really longed for mortal hands in times like this.

But the foolish man had fallen asleep.

Satan left to watch the virgin.

“Thank your stars you will not be married to that foolish man,” he thought.

He made himself comfortable and waited for the morning light.

No sooner had the night lights returned to their post than the betrothed arrived in great haste.

He went on his knees and begged her to accept him.

An angel had given him the great news.

Crestfallen, Satan watched.

Indeed, he had never felt such depression.

An angel!

How had he missed that?

He had to return to his place to think.

Putting an end to this insanity required great contemplation.

He left the two fools to themselves.

Oh, how had the Master found such mortals before he did?

Love’s Son was born through mortal womb.

Creator of time, came in time.

Beloved and highly exalted; Heaven’s Prince and glory, The Word by which Love made all things— He would be Love in earthly form revealed.

He would be Love’s greatest sacrifice.

His birth announced: Mary pondered, Joseph hesitated, the Baptist prepared.

The Lord of glory: born of a virgin, laid in a manger, born into the lowly home of a Judean carpenter.

The angels sang; the shepherds wondered.

The wise men sought Him with gifts; Herod sought Him to kill.

Creation stood in awe as heaven’s glory took on earth’s fury.

The only wise God Himself Come to save man from his own folly.

Creator of the universe, wrapped in swaddling clothes.

Maker of time shared time and space with His creation.

The immortal one took on immortality.

All, He did for love.

Five

Satan sat, depressed, on his throne.

Never had he known such defeat.

Yes, he had suffered a great many defeats, but this surpassed them all.

Cursed be the day he thought he could be as the Master!

“Oh, for such powers as the Master’s!” he thought.

Herod had failed him; indeed, the king was the grandest of all fools.

He had failed to destroy the Son. The virgin and her husband had sought refuge in Egypt, and he had taken comfort in the carnage of the innocents.

He watched Him grow; He was just the perfect child.

Satan waited patiently for signs of His glory, but the Son did nothing to attract attention, so he waited and watched Him closely.

The wild one was most interesting.

His loud voice was painful to hear.

Satan wondered why Jesus came here.

He had watched him baptizing repentant souls.

“What did the Son want with this mortal?” he pondered.

The Son was baptized.

The sign he sought was given.

With great apprehension he followed Him. He sought just the right opportunity.

Satan knew the glory he sought was now within reach.

Forty days of fast he waited for signs of weakness and hunger.

When the time was right, he came.

And when he showed himself, he felt he had been expected.

Where were the angels?

They were not near.

He could neither see nor feel their presence.

Was he walking into a trap?

Well, he had a desire more pertinent than the fear of the Master’s wrath.

No sooner had he opened his mouth than the Son showed him his rightful place.

Satan turned away in consternation to find the doubtful prince snickering at him.

Such shame he had never felt before.

Oh, what made him think It would be so easy to gain glory?

He must return to his place to think, for this was beyond his previous plan.

The glory would never be his, he now understood.

The Son must be destroyed— immediately.

Six

Love was revealed through the gift of His Son. He took His place among the sons of men.

He lived among the work of His hands.

Though fallen, man was not beyond redemption.

Love’s only Son agreed to go for His Father to show man how, simply, how to love the Father.

Was He accepted?

Was He exalted?

Was He appreciated for who He was?

Was He loved?

Was He honored?

Was He believed for the very works He did?

He was despised, yet He loved man.

He was sought for only if there was a need.

Man sought to kill the One to whom he owed his very life.

Man falsely accused the One who daily forgave his sins.

Wrongfully, man would do to Love what Love justly ought to have done to him.

Love walked the earth, lived with man, felt man’s pain, understood man’s weaknesses, shared his sorrows, and experienced man’s plight.

He that made man in His image took on man’s earthly form.

The Almighty One humbled Himself under authority.

He wept for a friend, He was hungry, He was tired, He was tempted, He was vexed, just like any other man.

For years He taught and preached and prayed.

He sought to reason with man.

Love touched, Love healed, Love fed man’s hungry body and soul.

The forsaken, the abused, the diseased, the unloved, the sinners found Him irresistible.

They sought salvation in Him. The teachers, the leaders, the influential, the religious men, the traditional fanatics could not deny His authenticity.

They sought to do away with Him. But who loved Jesus?

Who? The disciples?

The people who pressed upon Him? Did they truly know Him? Did they understand the purpose for which He came? What did they see in Him? One that would set their nation free?

One from whom they could take, demand, and receive?

One to feed them?

One to heal them?

Who loved Him?

Was He loved the way He loved?

For one whom He had chosen betrayed Him.

Seven At last!

My princes, patience does pay, and very well too.

I promised you I would destroy Him. I announce to you the impending death of the Son,” Satan proclaimed.

“Imagine the Master with nothing.

He’ll be forced to abdicate His throne.

Then, my friends, we shall fight and conquer.

Heaven will be ours.

Drink and be merry, for as I speak He stands trial.”

The princes sat in awe.

They had indeed seen the trials.

They had assigned demons to incite the people further.

Their assignment: to cry, “Murder!” and unite men against their Maker.

“Come, let us go and watch what mortals do to the Son,” Satan invited.

“Oh, that I could see the Master’s face!

What pain He must feel,” cried one of the fallen princes.

They drank and laughed and were merry.

Indeed, this was a grand victory.

Or so they imagined.

We deserve this,” they thought, “for we have suffered greatly at His hands.”

Never had they received such flogging, no, not even when they were thrown out of heaven.

It had caused tension in the ranks, for as one they had accused Satan, “Did we not warn you?

Where the Master was lenient, the Son showed little mercy.”

They had united for the first time to see this mission accomplished.

It had them completely floored that it took them all to bring one glorious mortal down.

Or so they thought.

They forgot that He is the Master’s Son and therefore their Master indeed.

They would not exist without Him. This one little detail escaped them: they existed to do the Master’s will.

On they marched to judgment square to mock the angels in attendance.

The atmosphere was compressed with ire as angels eyed them and ignored them.

For in the occasion of this trial, the fallen princes were of no importance.

It did not occur to the angels— no, it never even crossed their minds— that these demons took the praise for what was happening to the Son.

Satan arrived at the judgment square and took the governor’s seat.

He crossed his legs, and laughed with glee, and asked the Son the most impertinent questions.

The Son answered him nothing, but the look He gave him made Satan flee with dread while the governor gave Him up to be crucified.

The air burned with fury as angels took on demons.

Mortals went wild, intoxicated with unknown powers.

While mortals stood in judgment of the Immortal One, the coward hid in a corner.

No point gaining any more scars on his once-beautiful body.

It would be over soon, and he would have his vengeance.

The Son was forsaken.

He was denied.

They gave Him up.

His followers fled, every man to his place.

The Righteous One was hung among thieves.

The Lord of life was crucified.

Love no longer knew pain; He felt pain.

Silence!

Eight

Heaven was silent.

No angel dared a breath.

Silence ruled the earth.

All creation gaped, astounded.

Darkness ruled the day as Love looked away, as man and creation looked on, as the Son cried out: Why was He forsaken?

Here at last was Love’s ultimate sacrifice!

Spread out on a cross, a bridge between man and his God, He had shown man how, simply, how to love his God.

Breaking every wall of separation, reuniting the soul of man and the heart of God, bringing man again to the place of communion,

Love showed man why, simply, why he should love his God. Spread out on a tree, He bore man’s shame and pain.

Love must have stood, for the earth shook.

The veil was torn in two; Love was revealed.

Man began to see.

Nine The earth trembled as Love arrived.

From behind the veil, He came.

His Son’s blood had touched the earth, and Love came to see.

He stood on the hill beyond Calvary as demons and mortals fled.

One look at His Son and He looked away.

It was painful, but He had a plan.

The Son was laid to rest, but still He had work to do.

Unknown to the feeble human race, the Immortal One could not be destroyed. Â In Sheol they gathered, Satan and his cohorts.

They shut themselves in and trembled in silence.

None dared to speak.

Never had they seen such a frightening sight.

The Master must indeed be enraged, for even when He threw them out of heaven, He was not half as furious.

They earth shook, and the cages released the souls of dead mortals.

Demons trembled to see mortals walk out without fear.

“Oh, what zenith of foolishness we have attained!”

They cried to see such sight.

Mortals who once lived in dread of them now caused them no small fright.

“Oh, that the Master could be reasoned with!

But surely He shall not descend to Sheol!” They thought.

No sooner had the thought escaped their minds than the Son appeared in their midst.

Never had Satan felt such fright as now had laid hold of him.

He shook uncontrollably till his knees, weak from such fright, fell in obeisance to the Son. All of hell was silent except for the moans and groans of demons.

The glory radiating from the Son was indeed their doom.

To the ground they fell and hailed Him who reigns Supreme.

Kneeling, they confessed the truth they had forever known: Jesus is Lord!

The angels assembled the demons and bound them all in chains.

With one look from the Son, Satan gave up the keys of death and hell.

He was tied with a string and dragged through the ranks.

A very public show indeed!

And the scars the coward feared, the angels were pleased to inflict.

Ten It is finished!

Love’s plan was fulfilled.

Death bowed to life.

Love exposed and destroyed forever the potency of the Serpent’s lie.

The Son was raised again triumphant.

Alive, He restored to man his lost kingdom.

To man He gave the glory and union he once had with Love.

Still, He left man the right to choose.

The Word spread and caught fire.

It is told and repeated across the world.

Signs and wonders are performed in the Son’s name, and any man who believes and accepts Love’s sacrifice is saved and reunited with Love.

Now powerless, Satan and his cohorts roam the earth, seeking ignorant mortals who are unaware of or fail to use their authority.

Wherever one such mortal is found, there they are happy to dwell.

They obtain man’s power through subtle deceit and wreak havoc upon the earth We have seen Him by whom we were made.

We have touched Him by whom we have our being.

We love Him because He loved us first.

Now we strive, and strive we must, to love Him as He has shown us.

The choice is ours.

Love is all He demands in return.

Love that’s all!

The End

God’s Cry God is calling out to men everywhere.

He’s knocking on the doors of their heart.

He’s reaching out His hands to men everywhere.

His cry is loud and clear.

“My sons, come home, ’cause you never know; might be too late someday.

My heart yearns.

I need you close to me.

My sons, please come home.

Come home.

“Home is where I am.

My sons, come home.

Bring your treasure here.

Give me your heart.

Your burdens I will bear.

I will give you my peace.

“There’s nothing out there for you, My sons.

I created all you see.

Just come home, I beg of you.

I hate to see you perish.

Come home.

Come home.”

Loved I woke up this morning to the scent of something good. I had the sense that my Lover was preparing a table for me! I could not immediately tell what it was, but I knew it was good, and it made me jump out of bed with joy. It may not be tangible, but it is real.

I can reach out and touch it. It isn’t visible, but I can look in and see it. It is close, it is so near, and I feel loved.

Then I sat on my bed and wondered why He loved me, undeserving as I am. See, I wasn’t even talking to Him last week, but now I want to pour out my heart to Him in praise. It wasn’t that I was angry with Him; He’s been nothing but good to me. I was just impatient and worried, and then I thought stupid and then acted stupid. I moved away while He was busy making sure that all things work together for my good.

People.

Life brings all kinds of people our way, and unless we take the time to discover the purpose and value of every person in relation to the part they play in our lives and in our journey through life, such opportunities are wasted. We lose the opportunity to influence and bring positive change, the opportunity to learn and to grow, the opportunity to show love in its purest form, to care, to give, to receive, to laugh, and to truly live. No, we concern ourselves with appearing to be what we are not. We hope they see something they like in us, something that appeals to the senses and fades with time. We give in to this temporary insanity of “I am a twenty-first-century person, and everybody does that!”

Modern nonsense!

Life is a puzzle of which we all are pieces that need to fit where we belong. Who plays this game? Because we want to fit in on the green side, nobody wants to stay on the black side. Oh, what about the red, the blue, the pink, and only God knows what names they give to colors these days! I stopped where my nursery school teacher did.

All right, so I need to upgrade!

The point is we want it to be all colorful. “Yes, this isn’t where I should be in this puzzle, but I like this color, and I love this feeling. It doesn’t matter if I get hurt or if I am treated badly, or if people think I should be a certain way that I am not. I choose to wake up every day and hope to please someone.”

Enough!

When did I stop thinking this way? I think when my father changed my name from Abreowong to Abasiama.

Warning: For the love of your life, do not ask me what Abreowong means, and do not attempt to call me that name!

Anyway, I used to walk—no, strut—about with this air of having a strange name that no one knew the real meaning of, not even myself!

Foolishness! Grand foolishness!

And then one day, me pa woke up and said to me, “What do you think about having your name changed?” I need not tell you that my face gathered like an angry cloud and it almost rained tears, but I looked up at him and thought, “Why do you bother asking? You will do whatever you please!” But I simply asked him why he wanted to change my name. My daddy has one answer for all things unexplainable—I feel—he felt my name should be changed. So I asked why again. And my daddy simply said he would come up with a name by the next morning.

How old was I? Fifteen, I believe.

I went over to God—He wasn’t my best friend then, I was very afraid of Him, and I thought if I stayed in my corner and He stayed in His corner, we’d be just fine. But I wasn’t fine, because every time I did something wrong, I’d cry and beg to be forgiven, and once I was done begging for forgiveness, I’d beg to be taken to heaven so I’d never wrong Him again. Imagine my disappointment when I woke up on my bed in the morning!

“What do you want from me? I try my best not to annoy You, but I do, and why won’t You just take advice! Kill me already and be satisfied!”

Madness! Am I happy God has a sense of humor!

Because no sooner had I prayed and asked Him to help my father come up with some intelligent name than He went over and gave my daddy the name Abasiama.

Ugh! Now, you do not know my dad, because if you knew him, you’d know he takes things seriously, and everything must be done with great care and order—except driving, of course! I come from a family of crazy drivers! So he sat us down after morning prayers and brought out a paper and announced with great formality that from now on, Abreowong would be called Abasiámá!

“What?” I said, and then I fainted.

Nah, I didn’t. I cried! I couldn’t possibly tell my father, “What kind of stupid name is that? Have you any idea what that means?

How could you destroy my life forever? Who bears that kind of name?”

I would have been banished to … Bangkok!

My problem?

The only person I knew who had that name was in my nursery school class, this girl with a very big head; it made it easier for me to understand Humpty Dumpty.

Don’t judge me!

I went about feeling betrayed by God and my father and everyone who tried to adjust to this new name. It came with accents, so you had to pronounce it just right or receive a proper lesson in pronunciation from me pa.

And now?

I know why God gave me that name. It could have been any name, but it was Abasiama! And I have seen changes. I have felt God’s hand on my life, guiding me through life, gently prodding me to rise from my darkness into His light, pulling me into His boundless grace and limitless opportunities, taking me away from the limitations of my little world and the leanness of the things that gave me comfort into a world where everything I can ask for or imagine can be exceedingly supplied!

Is there anything I wouldn’t walk away from, anyone I wouldn’t give up just so I can have Him? My Lover will tell you, I give Him constant stress—who doesn’t? But He cannot stop loving me, and I can never go too far from the One who gives me such satisfaction.

I am loved!

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

LOVE'S UNYIELDINGQUEST Fourth edition. October 21, 2020.

Copyright Š 2020 Abasiama Akpan.

Written by Abasiama Akpan.

FOURTH EDITION

LOVE'S UNYIELDING QUEST