Those Who Walk Among Us

Many centuries and generations have passed since the God of Abraham walked among his people, so the Lord asked himself “what has changed on this Earth that I once created for my children?” I left them my laws to follow, the free will to choose between right and wrong, and the opportunity to learn from their own mistakes. I gave them the courage to go on in the face of tribulation and a comforter to remain with them always. I promised to wash away their past sins, they were guaranteed a clean slate, and the chance to be like me: full of greatness, love, compassion, the chance to be immortal, to be perfect. God said “I shall walk among the human souls and see what they see, feel what they feel, experience what lessons they have learned and taught.”

Looking for a lesson in compassion and attentiveness - as a homeless Veteran God secretly came into existence. In dirty tattered clothes, he roamed the city streets. Speaking to strangers about “his father in Heaven,” he talked of miracles and of angels, but the police labeled him as mentally ill and tagged him as schizophrenic. No one wanted to hear. The wealthy passed by and ignored him. They thought he was foolish, uneducated, and nothing more than a nuisance. Later he was robbed and left bleeding in the street. No one stopped to help. God was aghast from the treatment of a man who had given so much..

For enlightenment in the act of kindness - he then tried appearing as a beautiful white dove, a symbol of peace, joy, and love, but a nearby hunter shot him in mid flight, because he was bored. He called it “sport.” The dove fell to a nearby field: it lay in the grass, heart racing, and eyes rapidly moving, pupils enlarging, and then the life force slowly drained away. A frail, limp, feathered body lying all alone and frightened. God’s spirit returned to Heaven. What he experienced, disheartened him greatly. How could such a graceful and harmless creature have such a violent death?

For an education in humility and purity God appeared to man in the image of Jesus Christ, but he used an Islamic name. Traveling through the Deep South, as a stranger, from the Middle East, his skin was not white, his language not English - the Klan, with ghostly sheets covering their faces, branded him a terrorist and hung him on a makeshift gallows. Embittered over the prejudice, Emmanuel’s  soul returned to Heaven.

He tried transforming into a child, thinking that the innocent and pure of heart would bring out only the best in man, but his earthly parents were too busy for him. He was left alone while his parents went out to party and at the hands of his pedophile neighbor he was violated, raped, and abused. The Prince of Peace was now outraged.

Seeking insight into mutual respect he appeared as an elderly woman, but because she was old and frail, with dementia, she was placed in a nursing home, and later she died from loneliness and neglect. He thought maybe this was an isolated case so he reappeared at a Native American Elder. He thought surely I will learn of traditions and rites of passage, but the Reservation youth, who had been forced into white man schools, had lost all knowledge of their ancestry and religion and had turned to alcohol as an escape. God was totally disillusioned.  

He contemplated what form to take on next and the idea of man’s best friend came to mind, so he changed himself into a dog. He thought surely I will see unconditional love, will find companionship, and loyalty. For these are what a canine heart shares in abundance. At first he was accepted, well fed, and lots of attention, but then his owner became bored with him. He was too costly to feed and to take to the vet. The man considered trading him for a new smart phone or a game console, but instead he sold him at auction to the highest bidder. With a spiked chain around his neck, his new owner threw him into a ring, and because he refused to fight, he was beaten and killed.

What kind of education in humanity did God walk away with? Were the tears of the Father one’s of pride and joy, or were they tears of sadness and disappointment? Is this what his son had died for? Jesus, with his dying breathe said “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”, but after that many centuries – mankind should have learned.