The Seventh Truth (Part One)

Joe woke up one day and felt great. He was ready to travel. Luther had told him he could stay as long as he wanted, but both of them knew that he was not “ripe” yet, and had to finish the journey at all costs. He planned to leave the next morning. Before he left, however, he had some things he needed to talk over with Luther. The most important of these concerned the Seventh Truth. He got out of bed and walked down to the lake and took a swim au naturel. He had been more than a week now without outer clothing. He had spent the time at Luther’s in only his underwear. The grass tunic didn’t seem necessary. He was beginning to feel rather primal. Now that his body was healed, he was noticing changes. He was lean and tanned and, for the first time in many days, healthy. It was more than just physical health, he was emotionally healthy also. The burdens of the city, the sense of regret and loneliness he’d experienced earlier were all gone. Spiritually he felt at peace with God and the world. For the first time he realized that right where he was in his life, was right where he was supposed to be. The sun was up over the treetops and he lay by the lake watching Spot stalk a mouse in the grass. He was still sore in a few places, but overall, and in every way, he felt healed.

Luther came back from his “face time” carrying a rabbit. It would be a nice change from the venison they had been eating. Joe had found out earlier that “face time” for Luther was a time of prayer and meditation. Luther would walk the forest and talk to God. Luther said it was a necessary discipline he practiced every day the weather would permit. “It keeps me from the edge,” he told Joe. That had been enough information for the time, but Joe wanted to know more about Luther’s life. He wanted to ask him about the picture over the bed. After Luther had dressed the game he set out a plate of vegetables and they sat at the table.

“LJ,” Joe began, “tell me about the Seventh Truth.”

“Ah…that’s the good one, Joe,” he said, “That’s the mountain.”

“What does that mean?” Joe asked.

“The mountain…the mountain will take you there.”

“Where?”

Luther looked up suddenly and said: “the mountain is heaven.” It was the most sane he had ever appeared. His eyes burned with passion. “Have you ever wanted to go to someplace that you could see off in the distance?

“I don’t know,” Joe said.

“Let’s say a mountain is your destination and you see it off on the horizon. If that were true, everything you did would be to reach that place. Sometimes you wouldn’t be able to see it, but you keep going because you have to get there. Everything here is determined by there…Heaven is like that mountain. You can see it off in the distance, and it draws you, it guides you. It determines your every action here in this life. Without it your life has no direction, no goal, and no ultimate purpose.”

“So heaven is the Seventh Truth?” Joe ventured.

“Yes, Joe! Heaven is the Seventh Truth. But heaven is not disconnected from this life. We reach out to what lies ahead. We pursue it. It’s not just our reward for following The Way, it’s our compass.” Then he sang a verse from a song Joe had never heard:

“Ahead where home awaits the heart.

Ahead where home is waiting.

Ahead where home awaits the heart.

Peace is near.”

“That’s nice, Luther.”

They sat without talking for a while and finally Joe ventured to ask the question he’d been pondering for several days. “Who’s that in the picture, Luther?”

“Oh, uh…mmm, some call me Ishmael in the worst of times. In the best of times, they call me Deacon Blues. Died behind the wheel…she died behind the wheel.”

“Who died behind the wheel, LJ?”

Luther answered by pointing at the picture.

“Luther…” was all Joe could manage.

There was a long silence, and then Joe asked, “LJ, what was her name?”

 Luther became very agitated. He stroked his beard. He stood up. He sat down. He stood up again and went out. He came back. He started pacing around the cabin. All the time he was talking, but it was more like babbling. “Ah…she…Joe, I didn’t ask what I could do for my country…An ounce of prevention. I did it my way and lost my head and said some things. When it the course of human events. To be or not to be…not to be…not to be. No one knows what it’s like to be the bad man, the sad man behind blue eyes. I am what I am, Joe. I am what I am and that’s all that I am. I couldn’t see the joke was on me. Give me liberty, or…”

“Luther,” Joe said, “You don’t have to talk about it. It’s really none of my business.”

Luther stopped. He relaxed and sat down. Remarkably, he was as lucid as Joe had ever heard him. “No, Joe, I want to talk about it. I need to tell you…It’s been twenty-one years. We were on our honeymoon. Road trip down the coast staying at bed and breakfast inns. Third night we had an argument. Some stupid thing about the tip we left at dinner. I got mad and said some things…Ah, Joe if I could just have thirty seconds of my life back! She went for a drive to cool off. Rainstorm. Lost control. Died behind the wheel. You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong. Who's gonna drive you home tonight, Meg? Her name was Megan. She’s in heaven, Joe. That’s all I’ve got.”

“LJ, I don’t have anything I can say about that, but I know one thing: you have helped me. A lot.”

“Okay, then. That’s good. You’re a good man, Joe. It’s good I got to know you. So here is what I can tell you about the Seventh Truth. Go see the Seamstress. You gotta have new clothes. Them rags is filthy.”

“Okay, but I don’t have any money.”

“Work it out with her, Joe. Somethin’ll come up.”

“So, where does the Seamstress live?”

“She’s got a mansion just over the hilltop. Nice place. Go back out to the main trail and then head north again. Take you right there. Long and winding road, Joe, leads right to her door. Probably take you most of a day.”

Joe asked Luther to wake him when he got up, and so the next morning he left at first light. Luther gave him some jerky, a couple of apples and a small bag of the trail mix. Joe put on his grass tunic, took his staff and headed out the way they came in. Luther walked with him until they came to the main trail. Then he just clapped Joe on the shoulder and said, “Reach out, Joe. Reach out to what lies ahead.” With that he turned and walked away. Joe watched him disappear into the trees and then he turned and started down the trail.

The first part of the trail was relatively flat. Joe walked for the better part of two hours without incident. Once in a while he could see glimpses of the ocean through the trees to his left. The salt air mixed with the pine smells all around him. To his right the ground rose sharply. Perhaps this was the hill Luther referred to. He saw little wildlife save a few birds and a squirrel. He could walk now almost free of pain. His feet were healed and only the remnants of his worst bruises remained. His nose was tender, but he could breathe through it now. The only thing that challenged his overall sense of well-being was his clothes. He had not seen any people, but he was concerned that he might. His homemade grass tunic was tattered, falling apart and mostly brown in color. His briefs weren’t in much better shape. How he was going to meet the Seamstress without total embarrassment was a question he couldn’t answer.

Toward midmorning Joe began to hear the sound of water. He knew there must be a river up ahead. The sound got progressively louder, and soon it was all he could hear. Finally he came around a bend and what he saw took his breath away. He was standing at the edge of a chasm that was perhaps a hundred feet across. The trail crossed the chasm by a suspension bridge. The water he heard was an extremely tall waterfall. Actually it was two waterfalls. The first fell into a large pool right at the level of the bridge. Then another fell below into an inlet of the ocean. Joe estimated that the two falls must have been a total of five to six hundred feet in height. There was mist everywhere and the sound was deafening. He held on securely when he crossed for fear of slipping on the wet bridge deck. The swaying of the bridge was a little disconcerting at first, but Joe kept moving. He was amazed to see that there was a series of steps on the other side zigzagging up the side of the chasm. Even more amazing, he saw another bridge high above him. Apparently the trail crossed back again. Whoever made this trail purposely designed it this way. The steps could just as easily have been on the south side of the chasm. All that extra work just so the hiker could experience the waterfall twice. It was so gratuitous.

Joe crossed the bridge and began to climb the steps. There were hundreds of them. After the first hundred steps Joe began to sweat. The mist from the waterfall kept him cool but it was tiring work. It took him almost a half an hour to reach the top. He sat down and rested before he crossed the bridge. He ate some of the jerky and one of his apples. After he had sat for a while he got up and crossed the bridge. The waterfall disappeared below him into mist. The effect was surreal, but it made Joe want to find the Seamstress as soon as he could. On the other side Joe departed from the trail and followed the river upstream until he found a calm spot where he could get a drink. The climbing had made him really thirsty. When he had taken a good long drink he got back on the trail. He had only walked for thirty minutes when he came out of the trees. There was no doubt at that point where he was headed. He was standing on the edge of a grassy plain that was perhaps a mile across. He could see the trail winding out across the plain toward the foothills of some mountains where it appeared to end at a house that sat on the crest of its own little hill. Even from this distance Joe could tell it was a mansion. It was huge. If this was the Seamstress’s house, she had done pretty well. But he also looked down at himself. What would the people who lived here think? How would they receive him? Would they receive him? He was more than a little ashamed of his appearance. He looked at the house again, the hill it sat on, and the mountains behind. The sun was behind him now and the whole panorama was golden. It was beautiful, inspiring and inviting all at the same time. Joe wanted to be in that place. He was filled with a joy he couldn’t explain. Then all at once he started running. Then he ran faster. Then he ran as fast as he possibly could. He barely noticed the grass or the trail; he just kept his eyes ahead. When he was out of breath he stopped, but then he started running again.

Halfway across the plain another feeling came to his attention: awe. He thought about how good God must be who could create such beauty. He slowed to a walk. As he came nearer he could see more detail. The house was Victorian in style with turrets at the corners and wings that branched off the main house. He neared the hill and the house was out of view for a time. He could just see the tops of the turrets. The trail led to a long set of steps that took him up to a large yard surrounded by a picket fence. He stopped and admired what he saw. There were wide steps leading to a covered porch that wrapped around the front of the bottom floor. The house appeared to have at least four stories. He noticed several small balconies on some of the upper levels. Many of the windows had flower boxes and shutters. A carved sign hung over the porch steps that read: Gloryhaven. In front of him was a gate under an arched trellis that was covered in small roses. When Joe opened the gate three children came out of the house and ran down the steps to greet him. They seemed to take no regard for his odd clothing.

“What’s your name?” “Where did you come from?” “My name is Andrew.” “Did you know we have two cats?” They did not wait for an answer to any of the questions. They took his hands and led him up to the porch.

“Sit there,” one boy said, pointing to a porch swing, and they all disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Joe had not waited for more than five minutes when a man came from around the side of the house followed by the children. He was wiping his hands on a rag. Joe was relieved to see him smiling. He stood when he came up the steps.

“Good afternoon,” he said extending his hand, “my name is Paul. These are my three children: Benjamin, Andrew, and Megan. Ben is nine, Drew is six, and Meg is four.”

Megan nodded excitedly when he introduced her, “My birthday was yesterday. We have two cats and I can go potty by myself,” she announced.

“My name is Joe,” he said smiling as he shook each child’s hand.

 “Can I get you something to drink?” Paul continued. “We have water, ice tea or milk.”

“A glass of ice tea would be great,” Joe said.

Paul instructed Andrew to go for the tea. When he returned the two men sat on the porch steps while the children played in the yard.

“So, what brings you to Gloryhaven Joe?” Paul asked.

“I am a follower of The Way.” Joe answered. “It’s a long story, but I stayed a few days with a hermit named Luther. He told me that if I wanted to find the Seventh Truth, I needed to see the Seamstress.”

“Yes, I know Luther, but how did you get to Luther’s? That isn’t exactly on the way to anywhere. Actually, most people who want to go visit him have a hard time finding his cabin.”

“As I said,” Joe began, “it’s a long story, but let me offer the short version. I had suffered some mistreatment at the hands of a bully and I ended up stranded on a beach. I climbed a cliff and shortly after that I met Luther. I was in pretty bad shape and he helped me.”

“That’s saying quite a bit,” Paul said. “Luther doesn’t help just anyone.”

Joe then told Paul his whole story. Paul listened without comment. When Joe finished, Paul said, “You are at the right place for new clothes. I needed to hear your story before I offered any new information. The Seamstress is my wife, but her name is Priscilla. There are two roads you can take from this house, Joe. One leads to the Seventh Truth, the other leads back to the city. If you weren’t a true follower I would have sent you down the road to the city. But it seems to me that you really do want to find the Seven Truths.”

“More than anything, Paul. As I said, I’ve had other offers. This is what I want.”

“Okay then. Pricilla’s inside somewhere. Let’s go find her and we can talk.”

Paul took them inside. They stood in an entryway. To their right a staircase curved up to the next floor. To their left was a sitting room. Immediately in front of them was a hallway that led back to the kitchen and dining room. Paul called out for his wife but no one answered. “She must be upstairs,” he explained.

They went up the stairway to the second floor where the master bedroom and two other bedrooms were. Priscilla was in the sewing room bent over a sewing machine. It appeared like she was working on a dress of some kind. She looked up when they came in. Joe immediately became aware of his near nakedness. He started to back away in embarrassment. But even before Paul could introduce them, she took Joe’s hand and said, “You look like you need some clothes, Joe.” Her voice was calm and kind. There was no sense of condescension. Joe forgot his discomfort, but all he could say was, “yes,” and for no apparent reason tears came to his eyes. Then Paul put his hand on Joe’s shoulder and said, “Joe, I’ve got some things you can wear until we work something out. Let me take you up to a room where you can clean up and change. How’s that?”

“That would be great,” Joe managed. “Thanks to both of you.”

Paul took him up another flight of stairs. They came to a landing that faced three doors. Paul opened the center door and Joe walked in. It was a medium sized bedroom. To his left was a four-poster bed to his right was a door leading into a bathroom. There was a small table and chair next to the bed. Directly in front of him was a door leading out to a private balcony.

Paul said, “Take a bath if you want. There is plenty of hot water. I’ll go find something for you to wear. There should be some towels and in the closet there. Paul closed the door behind him. Joe went out to the balcony. From here he had a magnificent view of the mountains behind the house. He could see a road leading away from the house up into the mountains and wondered if that was where he would find the Seventh Truth. He hoped it was. There was a chair so he sat down and watched the clouds play games with the mountain peaks. He saw birds flying overhead. Megan was playing below and singing. The boys were up in a tree fort “shooting” at something with sticks. When he went back inside he noticed Paul had brought some clothes and also a razor, toothbrush and a comb. How long had it been since he’d used those? He took off his grass tunic for the last time. He wasn’t going to miss it. He got a towel and went into the bathroom. There was no shower, only a big claw-foot tub, a sink and a toilet. He ran the water as hot as he could stand it and climbed in. The water came up to his neck. What could he say? It was heavenly. He could see blue sky out the little window by the sink. Somewhere down below him someone was playing the piano. He was going to be okay.

Joe soaked in the tub for thirty or forty minutes, mostly dozing. He finally pulled himself out of the water, toweled off and looked in the mirror. He hadn’t shaved or cut his hair in over two weeks. His nose was a little crooked and slightly bruised. He was quite a sight. The haircut would have to wait, but he could shave. After that he combed his hair, which was quite tangled. Then he brushed his teeth and went out into the bedroom. Paul had brought him a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt. There was also a t-shirt, shorts and socks. On the floor was a pair of suede slippers with lamb’s wool on the inside. It felt really good to have clothes again. Really good. He wondered what Bruiser was doing right now. He lay down on the bed. Luther’s bed was functional and much appreciated, but this was a bed. This was something that you might look forward to each evening. Just then there was a small knock at his door. He opened the door to see Benjamin standing there. “We’re gonna eat, and I’m supposed to ask if you would like to have dinner with us. Would you? Please?”

“Yes, Ben, I would love to eat with you.”

“Cool! Let’s go.”

They went down the two flights of stairs to the dining room. The children were seated and Paul and Priscilla were putting things on the table. When Megan saw him her eyes lit up, “Mommy look, the wild man is a person just like us! Can he sit by me? Please?”

“You are right, Meg, he is a person. Why don’t you ask him? His name is Joe” Priscilla said.

She looked at him with those pleading eyes that only a precocious four year old can muster and said, “Joe, would you please sit by me?”

“It would be an honor,” Joe answered.

When all was arranged and everyone was seated Paul reached out and they all joined hands around the table and bowed their heads. “Thank you, Lord,” Paul began, “for your blessing. Thank you for this family and this house and our guest. Mostly, Lord, thank you for salvation and the hope of eternal life. May we be worthy of our calling. Amen.” The meal was roast beef with red potatoes, steamed vegetables, and green salad. Joe savored every bite. After the meal Paul took a Bible and devotional book from a round table in the corner. He handed the Bible to Benjamin.

“Ben our passage this evening is Philippians 3:20 & 21. Will you read it for us?”

Priscilla helped Ben find the passage, and then he read:

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

“Thank you, Ben. Here is what the devotional says: ‘We are citizens of another world. We live in this world but we belong to another. This world is not my home, as the old hymn says. We look forward to a place that far surpasses anything in this life. Hebrews eleven, the great faith chapter of the Bible speaks of the men and women of the faith and says: “they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” So today let us lay up our treasures in heaven. We are serving a kingdom that will never fail.”’ Andrew, do you love our home here?”

“Yes.”

“Who built this house?”

“You did.”

“That’s right. And didn’t you tell me just yesterday that you loved our house and you didn’t want to live anywhere else?”

“Yes, dad.”

“Do you know why I built this house?”

“My brain hurts, dad. Ask someone else.”

“Dad built this house,” Ben interjected, “because he loves us. He wanted us to have a wonderful place to grow up.”

Paul continued, “So, anyone, if your father can build a nice place for you, what about our Father in heaven? What could he do?”

“I know!” Megan almost shouted, “He could build a better place!”

“That’s right, honey,” Priscilla said, “Jesus is making a place for us that is so special and beautiful that someday we won’t even think about this world or this house.”

“Dad, why can’t we go there now?” Ben asked.

“God has work for us to do here. He wants us to bring along as many people as we can when we do go there.”

“Can we bring Joe?” Megan asked.

Everyone laughed, and Joe said, “Yes, Meg. You can bring me. Thanks for asking.”

After that they went around the table and everyone got a chance to pray. When they’d said the last ‘amen’ Priscilla brought out a plate of chocolate chip cookies for dessert. When the meal was over everyone took their plate out to the kitchen and helped clean up.

“Priscilla is going to start getting Meg ready for bed,” Paul said to Joe. “Would you like to take a walk with me?”

“Sure,” Joe answered.

They went out the back door and turned left. Just past the tree fort Joe had seen from his room was a path that led out to the foothills above the plain. The sun was low in the sky and was beginning to set behind the trees. They walked a hundred yards to a little rise where there was a gazebo with a round table and some chairs underneath.

“I like to come out here around sunset. Deer and elk like to graze in the field.”

Sure enough, as they sat down Joe could see several animal shapes with their heads down dotting the plain. “You have a beautiful place, Paul.” Joe said.

“Thank you. I have been blessed. My great grandparents homesteaded this land. Just about everything you can see was theirs at one time. I left home and spent some time in the service. Then I found The Way and everything changed. When Priscilla and I got married we wanted to do something important for God. So when I inherited this place we naturally thought of moving here. No one had lived here in a while, but the thing was, we couldn’t afford to build. There was only a little cabin here ten years ago. But then I had an opportunity to sell some land to the government. So I sold them this plain with the stipulation that it could never be developed. They made it into a roadless area. With that money we were able to build the house and other buildings. I kept 400 acres for myself. Gloryhaven is a working farm, but it was also to be a sort of stopping place for those who were seeking the Seven Truths. Eventually Priscilla came to be known as the Seamstress. That is a story all by itself, but I think Luther had something to do with it. It’s a way we can serve the Lord and raise our family in a great environment at the same time.”

“When I first saw this house,” Joe admitted, “I thought I was looking at heaven.”

“Well, that’s kind of by design. We want everything we do to point heavenward. Even the name Gloryhaven says that. God gave Priscilla and me the ability to make things. So we make them for him. But it hasn’t been easy. Our neighbors did not want us to move here. There were two or three brothers and their wives living on a place down the road. We found out later that they had a marijuana farm. They really treasured the privacy they had up here. They harassed us unmercifully for the better part of a year. It only escalated when they found out we were believers. Then it all came to a head one day. We had ordered some Bibles to give away and the deliveryman had dropped them at their house by mistake. When the package didn’t come I called and found out what happened. I thought I could just go down there and pick them up. When the one brother answered the door I could tell right away he was high. I asked about my package. ‘Yeah, come in’ was all he said. I went inside and the place reeked. I had smoked my share of reefer back in the day. I knew what I was smelling. They were all there, drinking beer if you can believe that, but no one wanted to get the Bibles. They wanted me to drink with them, but I refused. ‘You guys are stoned,’ I said. ‘Where is my package?’ From there it just went from bad to worse. I saw I was getting nowhere so I turned and started to walk out. One of them threw an unopened can of beer at me and it hit me in the head. Knocked me down. I got up and stumbled out the door. They came after me and beat me up. Then one of them said, ‘Hey, he thinks we’re stoned. Let’s stone him!’ They started throwing rocks at me. All I could do was lie on the ground and cover my head. Only thing that saved me was one of their wives came out with a gun screaming at them to stop. I was in the hospital for two weeks. My pastor gave me a verse to memorize. Galatians 6:17 ‘Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.’” Paul unbuttoned his shirt. He was covered with scars.

“I told you that story for a reason, Joe,” Paul continued. “You’ve had a similar experience, and you almost died. God takes our suffering and turns it into victory. That beating just strengthened my resolve to build this place. Plus the incident led to an investigation. The police found the cannabis plants in the back. They got arrested and lost their place. The police also found our Bibles. The box had been opened and they had used pages from some of the Bibles for cigarette papers. But, thankfully, most of the Bibles were unharmed. So, what I’m saying is that God has great plans for you also. Press on. Reach out to what lies ahead.”

“That’s what Luther told me.”

“Yeah, he told it to me also. Why don’t we head back? It’s getting dark.”

They walked back to the house. The kids were in bed and Priscilla was making coffee. When it was done they took their mugs out to the front porch. Paul made sure to grab the plate of cookies on the way. Paul and Priscilla sat on the swing and Joe sat in a big wicker chair. Finally he asked, “So how did you come to know Luther?”

“Luther’s my uncle,” Priscilla explained. “We named our daughter after his wife. He had a hard time of it when she died. As you probably know, he pretty much went over the edge. He’s come back somewhat, but it’s only been the last five or six years that you could even understand what he was saying. He comes up when he feels like it. The kids love him. I think that is why you didn’t shock them. After knowing Luther for any time at all, unusual takes on a different meaning. He’s a good man though. Extremely intelligent with a wide breadth of knowledge. He has his Master’s in Literature. He could be a wonderful teacher.”

“He told me to come see you,” Joe began. “He said that you could make me some new clothes.”

“Why do you want new clothes, Joe?” Priscilla asked.

“I want to find the Seventh Truth and my grass tunic was not going to make it. Can you help me?”

“I can make you clothes. It would take a few days, but unless you’re in a hurry, that’s no problem for us.”

“Thing is,” Joe said, “I have no money. You both saw what I came here with.”

“Well,” Priscilla said. Paul was unreadable. Then Joe remembered his coin. He grabbed at his necklace. “I do have this,” he said, pulling the necklace over his head. “So an odd coin, an old pair of briefs and about 3 pounds of dry beach grass is all I have to offer.” When he handed it to Paul, Priscilla leaned over and they looked at it together. Paul was about to hand it back to Joe when Priscilla gasped and grabbed his arm. She looked at the coin, this time much closer. “Paul, she said, “Do you know what this is?” Tears came to Priscilla’s eyes. She turned to Joe, but she was smiling. She was more than happy, she was almost ecstatic.

“Joe…I…” she looked down at the coin in her hand, “I will make you whatever you need.”

“What does it mean?” Joe asked.

“I haven’t seen this in over twenty years. I was in high school. I had already won several awards for sewing at the fair and I got asked to make a wedding dress for someone who was very special to me.”

Suddenly Joe connected the dots. “Luther’s wife,” he said.

“Yes. I adored her. When Luther brought her over and introduced her to the family I thought she was the coolest person on the planet. We became friends. She was about six years older than me and became my big sister. She really helped me through my fifteenth year. After the engagement I was shocked that she had asked me to make her dress, but I had hoped beyond hope that she would ask me. I threw myself totally into the project. For weeks that’s all we talked about. I had so many ideas. Then she brought up a tradition that was still around back then that the bride would walk down the aisle with ‘something old, something new, something borrowed something blue.’ I got the idea of integrating those things into the dress in some subtle way. She really liked that.

“For the new thing we decided on a brand new penny that I would sew into the hem. It would be from the year they were married. The blue was seven little sapphires her dad given her. He was kind of a rock hound, and had mined them himself in Montana. I sewed them into the bodice. For the something old she gave me an ivory colored ribbon that been on the wedding dress of every woman in her family for four generations. I wove that through little loops in the neckline so I didn’t have to put a needle in it. But we had a hard time with the borrowed item. We must have discussed a dozen different ideas. Then I thought about this,” she said referring to the coin. “It had been given to me on the day I became a believer. It was my most prized possession. The inscription on it is Greek. It says: ‘συμβουλεύω σοι ἀγοράσαι παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ χρυσίον πεπυρωμένον ἐκ πυρὸς ἵνα πλουτήσῃς, καὶ ἱμάτια λευκὰ.’ That is from Revelation 3:18 and it English it says: ‘I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire and white clothes to wear.’ My father had given it to me. He had several of them. He’d drilled a hole in this one and put the inscription on it. The coin was virtually worthless, but it was such a fitting verse for me. In the Bible clothes are sometimes symbolic of righteousness or even salvation. So it clearly applied to me at that level, but it also applied to me because even then I was very interested in sewing. Megan didn’t want to borrow it, but I insisted. I mean her dress was white. I sewed it into the waist at the back of the dress. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Except she died.”

Paul broke in at this point. “Let me finish the story. The wedding dress was in the back seat of the car when Meg ran off the road. I don’t know if Luther ever told you, but her car went into the ocean not far from here. They searched for days and never found the body. They finally found the car, but the dress was not in it. Nobody really cared about the dress at that point anyway.”

“Did Luther know about the coin?” Joe asked.

“Yes. I told him about it,” Priscilla explained.

“When I first met Luther he saw the coin and thought there was something significant about it, but he didn’t appear to recognize it.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. After all it was my coin, and it has been underwater for two decades. I almost didn’t recognize it myself.”

“Of course I had never seen the coin,” Paul said, “but I had heard the story from Priscilla and some other others in the family. It has been hard for a lot of people.”

Priscilla spoke again. “Everyone, including Luther, has come to terms with the loss in one way or another. But because we couldn’t bury her, it was hard to find closure. But the discovery of this coin…it does that. And it wasn’t like you found it in the sand. A coin in a fish’s mouth was one of Jesus’ miracles. Now, I think he has done it again. Plus, there is something else Joe.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Do you know what kind of coin this is?”

“No.”

“It’s a lepton. Are you familiar with the story in the Bible about the widow who gave more than the rich man?”

“I’m sorry; I don’t know too many Bible stories.”

“That’s okay, Joe. I’m sure you will someday. Anyway the widow gave two little coins. They were lepta just like this one. Some rich guys gave a whole bunch of money, but she gave more because she gave everything she had. In essence, that’s just what you have done, Joe. You have given everything you have to find the Seven Truths. And in doing so you’ve brought healing to my family.” She got up and hugged him. “Thanks for coming to Gloryhaven, Joe. I will start on your clothes in the morning.”

The days that followed brought Joe an odd mix of wonder and intense anticipation. He was so close now he had a hard time waiting to leave. Every morning he woke up to see the mountains out his window. He would go downstairs and get a cup of coffee and then come back to his room, sit on the balcony and read from a Bible he borrowed, and pray. Joe decided that he wanted to be with God first thing every day. He loved mornings. But then, if a person could wake up to this view every day, it would be hard not to love mornings. He spent most of the rest of the day with Paul. He was probably the most competent person Joe had ever known. That is where wonder came in. He seemed to be good at a whole lot of things. Joe finally figured out why that was so: Paul loved to learn, and he was not afraid to try new things. It was obvious he was very good at carpentry, but he was also a cobbler. In fact he was making boots for Joe. Joe tried to stay out of the way, but he found he wanted to learn also. Paul was a patient teacher and Joe gained a few good skills from him in the few days he was there. He also gained a huge amount of respect for both Priscilla and Paul, not just in the way they used their skills for God, but also in the way they raised their children and ran their lives.

People came and went while Joe was staying there. Friends would drop by for dinner, family members came, neighbors stopped to chat. Their house was like a meeting place. Once there was another traveler like Joe. But then he wasn’t like Joe. He had clothing. And what clothing! He looked like he had just stepped out of an outdoor store. While he was getting measured in the sewing room, Joe happened to see him coming up the trail. He saw Paul go out to him. They talked for a few minutes and Paul sent him on. There was also a young woman about Joe’s age that came by every day. She was Priscilla’s niece and she was sewing clothes for her.

On the morning of the third day there was a break in what was becoming a routine. Joe was on the balcony reading and praying as usual. At one point he opened his eyes and saw Luther sitting on the grass over by the tree fort. Joe didn’t want to yell down at him and so he was about to get up when he saw Paul come out of the house and walk over to Luther. They shook hands and then started talking. They were a ways away from him so Joe could not make out what they were saying. At first they appeared to be just two men talking, but then it was obvious that Luther was becoming agitated. Joe had been around him long enough to recognize the body language. At one point Paul put his hand on Luther’s shoulder. The hermit seemed to crumble. They walked over and sat on a bench outside the barn. Joe saw Paul point up toward his room and then take something out of his pocket and hand it to Luther. It had to be the coin. Luther looked at it then handed it back. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands for a long time. Then Joe heard the screen door open and slam shut. Priscilla came out and Paul got up so she could sit next to Luther. She took him in her arms like a child and held him. They both appeared to be crying. At that point Joe began to feel like he was eavesdropping so he went into his room and lay down on the bed. It wasn’t long before there was a knock at his door. It was Paul.

“Luther wanted to talk to you, Joe. Could you come down?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Joe went down and then out to Luther. He was still sitting on the bench. He appeared to be okay. When Joe walked up, Luther said, “Sit down, Joe, you don’t know what you’ve done.” As Joe sat Luther continued. “Ah…hmmm, well.” Joe saw the string from his necklace hanging out of Luther’s fist. He stroked his beard. “She’s gone, Joe. There was a time I would have paid the devil to replace her, but he went down to Georgia. Not a problem. Not now. Not for a long time. It’s true my flesh has inherited a thousand natural shocks, and there was once upon a time when I thought I was not to be, if you know what I mean. But here’s the rub, Joe: I haven’t been able to get past her. I was stuck in a moment.” Luther paused for a full minute. “Now here’s this coin,” he said, holding it out. “When I saw you wearing it…I didn’t know…it was too much to hope for. But now here’s this coin. Paul, you know, he told me about it. Three coins in the fountain, but this one came out of the fountain. This coin has power. I never saw this coin before I met you, and now here’s this coin…telling me to let go. It’s been twenty-one years Joe. I guess I’m ready.”

“Luther, if I can be of any help, please let me know.”

“You already have, Joe. You already have.” He stood up, handed the necklace to Paul and walked out to the path that led to the gazebo.

Paul watched him go, and then turned to Joe, “Remember when I said the other night that God turns our suffering into victory? If you hadn’t been on that beach to catch that particular fish we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. It may be a bit premature to say that Luther is going to heal, but I don’t think so.”

Two days later Andrew came and found Joe out in the pump house with his dad. “Mom wants to see you.” Joe followed him back to the house and up to her sewing room. “Joe,” she said with a smile, “Your clothes are done. Take them up to your room and try them all on one last time to make sure.”

Joe didn’t see the need to try them on again. She’d had him up there every day fitting and refitting. She had practically made him a wardrobe. There were two pairs of jeans. One of the pairs was lined with flannel on the inside for cold weather. She had made him two flannel shirts, two t-shirts and a hooded sweatshirt. There was a cap and gloves and socks and underwear. How was it possible that one woman could make so much so well in such a short period of time? Everything not only fit, but it was extremely comfortable. Joe had thought once that genius manifest itself in different ways for different people. Some geniuses were philosophers or rocket scientists and some were seamstresses. She had told him that there was more here than he could take with him, she just couldn’t forget how pathetic he looked the first time she saw him. At any rate Joe decided he would leave after breakfast the next morning. Paul had finished the boots two days earlier and had Joe wear them to break them in. They were already comfortable.

That night Joe and Paul talked at the gazebo like they had done on his first night at Gloryhaven. “Do you remember when you arrived and I told you that just south of our property the road splits?” Paul asked.

“Yes.”

“At the fork take the road to the left.”

“Is that the road up into the mountains?”

“Yes it is, Joe. The road ends at a trailhead. The trail will take you where you want to go. It could get cold, especially at night. It’s beautiful up there, Joe. Nothing like anything you have ever seen. Stop on your way back. You are welcome here anytime.”

The next morning they had pancakes, sausage, and orange juice for breakfast. After the meal Joe followed Paul out to the barn. He had a backpack, sleeping bag, and water bottle he wanted Joe to use. Joe went back to his room. He put on his new jeans and packed the flannel-lined pair in the backpack with some of the other clothes. He filled the water bottle and went downstairs. Priscilla gave him food for the trip. They went outside. Paul was there with Ben and Megan. Joe had gotten to know the kids pretty well these last few days. He realized that he was going to miss them. Meg ran over and hugged his leg, “I don’t want you to go!” she said. Ben, trying to act like a man said, “don’t let any bears eat you.” They shook hands.

“Where’s Drew?” Joe asked.

“He was acting kind of weird,” Paul said, “and ran off. I’ll go find him in a bit.”

Joe hugged Priscilla. She made him promise to stop by the house on his way down. “We’re having a wedding here in a couple of days. If you can make it, you’re invited.”

He and Paul hugged, and then he was off. He went down the driveway. Their property was at the end of the road, so there was nothing to do but head out. He had barely started when he saw someone sitting by the side of the road up ahead. At first he thought it might be Luther whom he hadn’t seen since they talked about the coin, but the person was too small to be Luther.

Then he realized it was Andrew. When he approached Andrew looked up. “Hey, Drew, what are you doing out here? Your dad is looking for you.”

“I’ll go back, but I wanna talk to you alone.”

“What’s up?”

Andrew didn’t answer at first. He looked back down. He was really quiet. Then he looked up and the words rushed out, “I don’t want you to go because there is something really important I need to do. I can only talk to you.”

Joe sat down next to him. “Why can’t you tell your parents?”

“You. Only you.”

“What is it?”

“I did something. Something bad.”

“Do your parents know about it?”

“No! That’s why I am out here. I can only tell you.”

“Andrew, what did you do?”

There was another pause, then he said, “I lied.”

“What did you lie about?”

“It’s the worst lie, Joe. The worst!”

“Andrew, what did you lie about?” Joe repeated.

“I told my parents I was a follower of The Way, and I’m not. I wanted them to like me. My brother did it, and I knew they wanted me to do it too, and so I said that, and it’s a lie.”

Joe was stunned. This was not at all what he’d thought.

“Andrew, can I say something?”

“Yes.”

“Your parents love you, no matter what. You don’t have to lie to get them to like you.”

“But I’m not a follower.”

“Do you want to be?”

“Well, I want to be, but I’m afraid to die.”

“What do you mean?” Joe felt like he was way out of his league here.

“In devotions one night we read that if you want to save your life you must lose it.”

“I don’t know a lot about the Bible, Andrew, but I know it doesn’t mean you have to actually die and get buried. I think it means you have to die to uh, yourself, you know your plans and stuff. You have to give up your life to God. I learned that the hard way.”

There was another long silence. Then Andrew said, “Okay then. I want to be a follower.”

“Then you need to talk to your”—

“No,” Andrew interrupted, “I want to be a follower right now. I want you to do it.”

“Do what?”

“Show me The Way.”

That wasn’t what Joe wanted to hear. He was terrified. Why him, why now? He knew so little. But then finally he said, “Andrew I don’t know much, but I can tell you my story and maybe a little more.”

“Okay,” was all Andrew said.

“I used to live only for myself. I didn’t believe in God and I didn’t follow The Way. To me Jesus was just a name. But you know it was like I was blind. I wandered through my life like I was walking in a cloud. Then God started speaking to me, and-“

“What did he sound like?”

“What? Oh, no, he didn’t speak to me like that. I meant he spoke to me through other people and through the Bible.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Anyway, I started listening. He made me realize how much he loves me. Like I said, God brought people into my life to help me. And he brought hardship into my life to make me realize how much I wanted to follow him.

“I broke my arm once,” Andrew offered.

“Yeah, kind of like that. I knew God could have stopped the hard things, but he wanted me to love him no matter what. I couldn’t just love him if he made my life easy. So I became a follower, and that means my sins are forgiven and I have eternal life. Andrew, I’m going to live forever! Isn’t’ that cool?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool.”

“So, I know this much. I know that God loves you too. He loves Andrew a lot. If you are going to follow him, you have to do it to please God, not because you want to please your parents. It’s between you and him.”

There was another pause. Then, “What do I do now?”

“I think you need to pray.”

“What do I say?”

“Do you want me to help you?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, follow after me. You can say what I say, but you have to mean it.”

“Okay, I’ll mean it.”

“Dear God.”

Andrew bowed his head, “Dear God.”

“Thank you for loving me,”

“Thank you for loving me,”

“Forgiving me,”

“Forgiving me,”

“And dying for my sins.”

“And dying for my sins.”

“I love you God.”

“I love you God.”

“And I will follow you,”

“And I will follow you,”

“For the rest of my life,”

“For the rest of my life,”

“Amen,” Joe concluded.

“Amen,” Andrew repeated. When he opened his eyes he had that look of certainty that only children have: his lips pressed together, his head confident. He looked Joe in the eyes, ready to face whatever came next.

“Andrew, you’re on his team now. You have eternal life. There are some things I should pass on to you. First of all, find the Seven Truths. You parents can tell you about that. Second, never look back. Make your whole life about God.”

“Okay.”

“And one more thing, Andrew.”

“What’s that?”

“You need to apologize to your parents for lying to them.”

“Really?”

“That’s the easy part. They love you so much. Tell them the whole story. I promise it will be okay. When I get back, if you got in trouble, tell me and I will see what I can do. Okay?”

“Thanks, Joe.”

“You probably ought to go home now. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye!”

With that he turned and ran back toward the house. Joe watched him go and then he turned the other way and headed down the road. Something had happened to him. He had passed the message on. He had been used by God to give a little boy hope and to bring him into the kingdom. That was pretty extraordinary. There had been so many who had reached out to him, now he was on the giving end. That was a whole new thing for Joe, but it felt great.

Thirty minutes later Joe reached the fork in the road. Without deliberating he took the road to the left. It was another mile, mostly uphill to the trailhead. There at the trailhead were two boulders similar to those he had seen before. On one boulder it read: “Revelation 21:2-4: I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” Joe walked over to the other rock. It read: “Hebrews 12:22-23 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven.” “Wow!” Joe thought, “Heaven sounds pretty cool.”
Questions:

1. What is the Seventh Truth?

2. What is the significance of Joe’s clothing? (See Isaiah 61:10, Matthew 22:1-14 and Revelation 3:4-5, 18.)

3. In what way is the Seventh Truth the mountain.

4. What event sent Luther over the edge?

5. What truth kept him from becoming completely crazy?

6. How was the waterfall gratuitous?

7. How did the devotional at dinner relate to the Seventh Truth?

8. How does Gloryhaven, the place where the Seamstress lived, relate to the Seventh Truth?

9. Why did Paul tell Joe the story of the time he got beat up?

10. In what way did the coin tie everything together?

The Sixth Truth

The cliff didn’t look impossible to climb, but Joe wasn’t going to climb it today; and probably not for a while. He had other issues to face first. Water was his most immediate need. Without that nothing else was going to matter. Then there was food. Even if he could find a water source, he couldn’t function effectively for long without food. Shelter would be an issue only so long as he stayed on the beach. Once he started climbing, however, body covering would really come in handy. He was ready to be mad at Bruiser again, but that would only distract him from what was most important. Joe decided that his body needed some time to heal, so he planned on staying on the beach until he felt he could climb. With his priorities in order, Joe began his search for water.

As it turned out, he found food first. His beach (for he began to think of it as his at this point) was about a half mile from end to end. At either end where the cliff came out to the water were several tide pools. They were teeming with life. There were starfish and sea anemones, but he didn’t think they were edible. There were some little fish he couldn’t identify, but how would he catch them? However, there were some little crabs in the pools also, and there appeared to be plenty. He was pretty sure that, even raw, they wouldn’t be horrible. When he reached for them, they wanted to skitter under a rock, but Joe found that if he was quick, he could catch them. Those he caught he would smash with a rock and pick out what he could eat. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. He also found that some of the plants weren’t too bad. So he ate a breakfast of raw crab and sea plants. It was salty, but it was food. He even said a prayer over his meager meal.

After breakfast, Joe was especially thirsty. He thought that his best bet would be to inspect the cliff face for a spring, or any other sign of water. He started at the north end of the cliff and worked his way south. Hobbling about on injured feet made his inspection tour take forever, but eventually it paid off. About two hundred yards into his search he found water. It was in fact a spring. Not much of a spring, but if he put his mouth right up to the rock, with a little patience he could suck water off the surface. By this time the sun had risen from the east over the top of the cliff. Joe was tired and still in a lot of pain, so he lay down and slept in the warm sand. He woke two hours later feeling better than he had since Bruiser had beaten him up.

Joe got up and searched the cliff again, only this time he was looking for some place he could sleep that night. In his search he found a shallow cave. He drug some driftwood over to the front of the cave to block off the wind and scooped out sand until he there was a little hollow he could lay in that night. Then the thought of fire occurred to him. He remembered watching Castaway with Tom Hanks. He had loved that part where Tom had finally made fire, and how proud he was of his accomplishment. So Joe collected some twigs and lichen and laid them in the cave for later.

The last issue Joe worked on that day was clothing. No refuse had washed up on his beach that could be used, so the only thing he thought he might be able to do was weave some crude covering out of the beach grass. He had never woven anything in his life and he was not very successful. His weave kept falling apart. Then he thought about the only manmade thing he had on the beach: the life ring. After some thought he figured out how he could unravel the fabric from the outside of the ring and use the little pieces of thread to tie off the ends of his woven grass. That kept them together. In this way he was able to make a sort of grass blanket. It was starting to get dark and so Joe moved all the things he wanted to keep up to his cave. He did not know how high the tide might come while he was asleep. He was too tired to try making fire that night, so he just crawled in his shelter and slept as best he could. It was actually more comfortable than the cave he’d slept in on the mountain. He was still cold, and still in a lot of pain, so he woke up several times during the night, but it was a vast improvement on the night before.

The next morning was pretty much a repeat of the day before except he did not have to search for water or shelter. He was able to dedicate his time to weaving. It took him all morning. When he had a rectangle about two feet by five feet he felt like an accomplished weaver. He took the sharpest rock he could find and cut a hole in the middle for his head. Then he tied off all the loose ends around the hole. Now he had a kind of grass tunic. He slipped it over his head and it came down to mid-thigh. It was scratchy, but it might provide some protection when he was climbing. He was even able to make a belt out of the rope that was looped around the ring. With that done Joe thought about trying to make some protection for his feet out of the remains of the life ring, but couldn’t think of anything he could climb with. “Well,” he thought, “I may be a tailor, but I am not a cobbler.”

Giving up on shoes, Joe took off his tunic, waded out into the water, and then looked back at the cliff. He studied possible routes. As he stood there he noticed something he had not seen before. About halfway up the cliff and off to the left was what appeared to be a cave. What was more amazing was that it looked manmade. That brought Joe up short. How could that be? Or a better question, why? He crossed his arms and thought about that. After several minutes he thought about when he had been on the mountain. At that time he had come to realize that his path off the mountain was ordained by God. Was this cliff any different? He had been thinking that Bruiser’s act of violence was just a random event he had to cope with. But could it be that God had-what would be the right word here-allowed Bruiser to do what he did to bring Joe to this very spot? God was certainly able to prevent it, so what other conclusion was there? If Jesus were his Lord, then this too was from him. If this beach and that cliff were part of The Way, then so be it. This beach, then, wasn’t his prison, it was his salvation.

For the remainder of the day Joe focused on the issue of fire. He gathered more kindling and added that to what he’d gotten the day before. Then he found some medium sized pieces of driftwood and brought them to the area in front of the cave.         He tried making sparks with two rocks, but he had absolutely no success with that. Then he remembered from somewhere about making a bow. He found a suitable stick and tied off his rope at either end. He then looped the rope around another stick. This way he could spin the upright stick with the bow. He soon realized that he was going to need something to hold the upright stick. He finally found a small rock with an indentation he could use. Then he placed the end of the upright stick in the notch of a large almost flat piece of driftwood. He piled lichen and twigs around the notch. He started a sawing motion with the bow. It wasn’t too long before he could see wisps of smoke, but fire did not come so easily. It took him an hour to get a flame of any kind, and most of another hour before he could sustain a fire at all. But he did have a fire! He thought of all the times he had just turned on a burner on the stove, or pushed some buttons on the microwave or turned up the thermostat. There was something extremely satisfying about making your own fire. ‘Tom Hanks has nothing on me’ he thought. He sat at the mouth of his cave completely warm for the first time in two days. He sat there until the sun set beyond the ocean. He put more wood on the fire and lay down to sleep. He would climb tomorrow.

Joe rose on the next day and exited the cave. He went right to the cliff. He got two good hand holds, but when he tried to push up with his foot the pain shot up his leg. There was just no way he was climbing today. He decided to stay off his feet for a full day, so he sat and perfected his tunic until it got dark and then he slept. The next day showed a little improvement, but really he just needed a doctor; well a doctor, a physical therapist, a chef, a tailor, and a rock climber. He was just going to have to wait. He made his way over to his water source with his sharp rock and hollowed out a place for the water to pool up. He didn’t know how long he’d be on this beach but at least he had water and now that he had fire he could sort of roast his crab. It was much better cooked.

One day stretched into another until Joe lost count of the days. Then one day he stepped up on a rock to get a better angle at a crab. When he stepped down he realized he hadn’t felt pain. He tested his feet and they felt good. Maybe he was ready. Tomorrow he would make another attempt. He was happy to find there were some embers still warm from his fire the previous night. He put some more lichen on the embers and managed to get the fire going again. The tide was out. He was going to have a real cooked meal before he left his beach. He’d seen a fairly sizable fish yesterday in one of the pools. If he caught that it would be just what he needed. He went to the south end of the beach where he’d seen the fish. It was still there. He didn’t know what kind of fish it was. If it was one of those poison fish he had heard about, he hoped the baking would purify it. But how was he going to catch it? He tried swiping it out of the water like he’d seen a bear do in a movie once, but that didn’t work. He got a stick, but he couldn’t make it sharp enough without a knife. What finally worked was a primitive net he made from his underwear and a branched stick. The tide pool was small enough for him to “herd” the fish into a corner and then sort of scoop him out onto the rocks. He quickly hit the fish on the head with a rock to kill it. He needed to clean the fish, so he cut it open as best he could with a small stick and cleaned out the insides. He’d heard somewhere about scaling, so he went to the cave and got his sharp rock and scraped the outside of the fish until it looked good, whatever that was. Joe was not a fisherman.

While he was scaling the fish, something fell out of its mouth. Joe reached down and picked up a little copper coin about the size and shape of a dime except thicker. It was clearly manmade. There was a small hole in the center and around the perimeter something was written. Joe couldn’t read it because it was written in another language. He thought it looked cool so he pulled a couple of strands from the rope and made a necklace. He put it over his head and wore it like a medal.

Joe then stuffed the fish with some of the plants he had been eating, stuck it on the end of a stick and cooked it over the fire. The aroma brought tears to his eyes. Many years later Joe still remembered that aroma. His fish, his fire, his beach. He ate the fish with his fingers. Each bite was better than the last and it didn’t kill him, in fact it was extremely satisfying. Joe bowed his head and thanked God for the fish. Now it was time to leave while there was still a lot of day left. Without ceremony he put out the fire as best he could, donned his tunic, went to the spring and took a long drink and began his ascent to the cave.

Joe had gone rock climbing with some friends once, but that was indoors on a climbing wall with safety equipment. This climb had no margin of error. When he got about 20 feet up he looked down. That look was almost fatal. He lost his toehold and started to slip. He clawed at the cliff face, and almost caught himself, but instead he slid down the cliff, damaging his already sore body before he fell into the sand below. He lay there hurt and mad at himself for not being more careful. The worst part was banging his nose on the way down. It started bleeding again, and hurt almost as much as when Bruiser punched him. After the bleeding stopped he stood up. Nothing more was broken. He started again. This time he was more careful. He made his way up and passed the spot where he had fallen. He was more confident now, but he had not anticipated how quickly his arms would get tired. It was tempting to want to pull up with his hands instead of pushing with his feet and this had weakened him much faster than if he’d been an experienced climber. Finally he came to a little outcropping of rock that allowed him to sort of sit and rest his arms. But Joe needed desperately to make it to the cave before dark, so he pushed on after a short break. Maybe he should have waited longer. Soon he got tired again and this time there was no convenient rock to sit on. All he could do was let go with one hand at a time and let his arm rest at his side. It was dangerous to do so, but he was almost out of strength. He did not want to look around, but he could tell the sun was low in the sky, and he was beginning to get worried. However, he kept moving even though he made slow progress trying to conserve energy. He was sweating and out of breath. The tunic irritated his skin in numerous places. Soon the cliff face was red with the glow of sunset. In fifteen minutes he would be blind. He looked up. He could see the cave above him. He started in that general direction, but he didn’t make it. When the sun went down, and it got darker, he panicked. His bare toes and fingers ached and bled. He had scrapes and cuts on his knees, elbows and a dozen other places. He was scared, but what could he do? He pushed up with his left leg. He found a handhold with his right hand. He reached up with his right foot and found a place, but he couldn’t find anywhere to grab with his left hand. It was now dark. He swept the cliff with his left hand, but there was nothing. He stretched out as far as he could reach and found, to his surprise a hole. But not really a hole. He had found the cave. He managed to grasp the side of the cave and gingerly make his way over. A minute later he was lying inside. He was not going to fall.

Joe was exhausted. He had never done anything so physically demanding in his whole life. Even though his feet were still hanging off the lip of the cave, he didn’t move for a long time. His arms felt like lead weights. He wasn’t ready to even think about his feet. Everything hurt. His old wounds seemed to compete with the new ones for attention. He didn’t have enough energy to worry about any of them. He lay unmoving in a fetal position for perhaps 20 minutes before he felt like even shifting his weight. He pulled himself further into the cave and slept.

 Joe woke up. It was dark in the cave. He could not see beyond a few feet. He reached up and could touch the ceiling as he sat, so he would not be able to stand up. His knees hurt so bad from climbing the cliff he didn’t think he could put any pressure on them so he lay on his side and kind of crept along a few inches at a time. Thankfully he didn’t have to go far. The cave ended about ten feet in. Joe felt a slight breeze. To his left was a stairway that looked like it led up and out. Joe crawled up the steps. It was dark when he got outside, but the moonlight revealed that at the top of the cliff was a meadow covered in heather. The meadow ran up to a forest. Joe wasn’t sure what to do at this point so he sat by the edge of the cliff and looked out over the ocean. It reminded him of the night he got thrown in. He peered carefully over and could just make out his little beach down below. He looked out and imagined the way he must have come to shore. He could see where he had slept the first night. At that point he saw the lights of a ship passing by and he wondered where The Pearl was right now. Probably in port up north. Bruiser was probably sitting in a bar or with a woman. To be sure he wasn’t suffering from cracked ribs or a broken nose. He had his clothes and shoes. He’d eaten three squares and slept in a warm bed these last three nights.

“It’s not fair!” Joe said aloud. He sat in silent frustration and pondered the significance of this. Was God judging him for almost selling out to Rich? But if that were true, why hadn’t he judged Bruiser? And there was the problem. Joe was trying to be a good person and a true follower of The Way and bad things were happening to him, yet Bruiser was a bad person and bad things were not happening to him. In fact an argument could be made that good things, like food and clothing, were happening to him. Then there was Rich and Randi. A lot of good things were happening to them. If God was the Ruler of the universe, why didn’t he at least make sure that good things happened to his friends? Joe had no answer to these questions so he struggled to his feet and looked for a place to sleep. It was dark but he finally found a spot in some soft soil that would work for a bed. He didn’t have to brush his teeth or straighten out the covers or set the alarm. He just stretched out on the ground and closed his eyes. He fell asleep immediately. He was so tired didn’t wake up an hour later when a human figure emerged from the forest and slowly crept over toward him. When the person realized Joe was asleep they just stood over him. “Hmmm,” the person said, “Ah, yes. Well, not tonight. No, this one’s not ripe yet. Hmmm, well maybe tomorrow, hmmm?” Finally it turned and went back into the woods looking over its shoulder every few seconds.

When Joe woke it was barely light. Fog had drifted in and he was cold. He sat up. He was still sore all over but he felt a sense of anticipation, even excitement: he was off the beach. Who knew what today would bring? He stood up. It hurt to stand up. It hurt to move. He looked around and noticed the beginning of a trail leading into the woods. It reminded him of the trail at the top of the falls. There was a large stone on each side of the trail. Joe hobbled over. There was a plaque on each rock. The plaque on the left said: “Psalm 37:3,4: Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” The plaque on the right said, “James 1:2-4: Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Joe thought about what God was saying to him here. It was obvious that these passages applied to his current circumstances. He needed to trust God and do good. God’s ‘pasture’ was safe. Okay, things were hard, but he was alive. God would give him the desires of his heart. So what were his desires? Right now food and clothing would be at the top of the list. But he remembered that passage about seeking God and his kingdom instead of worrying over these things. So then, that was a desire also: to seek the Seven Truths, seek the kingdom of God and follow The Way. A more comfortable life would definitely be a plus, but that was less important than following The Way. Joe saw that the trail wound through the woods and out of sight. It looked flat and clear of underbrush. He would have to go slow because his feet were so sore, but at least he wouldn’t be climbing. He turned away from the stones and began limping down the trail. Walking was really painful. After a dozen steps or so he started looking for a stick he could use for support. He finally found a branch lying off the trail that was straight enough and not too long. By grabbing it with both hands he could make his way along.

Joe had walked for about fifteen minutes when he saw someone step out onto the trail twenty-five yards ahead of him. Joe stopped. He could tell it was a man because he had a long beard. His hair was long and ratted. He wore brown leather clothes. He seemed to be covered with paraphernalia. He carried a couple of satchels over his shoulders. He had numerous little bags tied to his belt along with a rather large knife. He had things tied in his hair. He cocked his head to one side, put a fist on his hip, stroked his beard, and looked at Joe.

“Hello!” Joe yelled. The man rose up in alarm and ran back into the woods. Joe couldn’t see or hear where he went. Now what? Was it safe to go ahead? The man seemed to be able to come and go without Joe knowing, so it was just as safe down the trail as it was here. He decided to keep walking. He limped along the trail for a half hour, and was beginning to think the man had run away when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. He turned around and there was the man not ten feet behind him. Joe jumped back in surprise.

“How long have you been there?” Joe asked.

At first the man didn’t say anything. He stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, rising up and down on the balls of his feet, smiling.

“Oh, yeah there,” he finally said, nodding his head, “that’s the one. How long? I’m never there. I’m always here. ‘You can’t not be in a boat.’”

Joe noticed that though the man was clearly an outdoors type, he looked intelligent. His keen blue eyes missed nothing. His long fingers alternately stroked his beard or pressed together at his chin. The man did not sound threatening. But he looked like he might be crazy. He was constantly looking around while he talked. His conversation alternated between keenly insightful and incomprehensible. He punctuated his speech with certain words as if they were italicized in the text and were pregnant with meaning.

“My name’s Joe,” Joe said and held out his hand. The man walked up slowly, cocked his head like before and finally took Joe’s hand and shook it and quickly dropped it. “Luther Jarvis.”

“Pleased to meet you, Luther.”

“Some people call me “The Hermit”, but my friends call me LJ,” Luther explained.

“Why do they call you “The Hermit?” Joe asked.

“Maybe because it’s the bottom of the ninth and nobody’s on. Maybe. Or maybe it’s because I mind my own business…or is it business is my mind, I’m not sure, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Anyway, it’s kinda like you can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant, except for Alice.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Oh, man! Sometimes I say things, Joe…they just come out. I don’t know what they mean. But listen, Joe, I gotta ask: where’d you get that coin?”

Joe had almost forgotten about it, but he saw Luther pointing to the copper coin hanging around his neck. He told Luther about being stranded on the beach and the fish with the coin in his mouth and climbing the cliff. Luther interrupted him,

“Wait, Joe. You said he had a coin in his mouth. How’d you know it was a male fish?”

“Well, I didn’t, I just…what difference does it make?”

“Oh, it makes a big difference, Joe. Big difference. If it’s a male fish, it’s a sign from God. If it’s a female fish, then it’s a sign from God. Do you see what I mean?”

“Not really, Luther. I think you just said the same thing about both.”

“Did I? Wait!” He took that pose again, one hand on his hip and the other stroking his beard. He thought for half a minute. “Okay. You’re right. They’re the same thing. But still it’s a sign from God, Joe. No mistake about that.”

“What’s it mean?” Joe asked.

“Gotta think about that for a while. Go back to the night the bed fell. Been there. Done that. Hey, Joe! Where you headed with that coin in your hand?”

“I, uh, I’m a follower of The Way. I am seeking the Seven Truths. You mentioned God. Are you a follower of The Way, Luther?”

“That one is outta here! Grand Slam, Joey boy! I am. But where are you headed right now?”

Joe thought about this for a moment. Then, “I am looking for the Sixth Truth.”

“Ah! Justice! Let me help you, Joe. Sit down over there on that fallen tree.”

Joe wasn’t sure what he meant, but he sat down anyway.

“I didn’t think you were ripe yet, Joe,” Luther said as Joe sat.

“What do you mean by ripe?”

“You hadn’t found the Seven. You know, all the Seven. Let me look at your feet. Saw you limping. Can’t find the Seven with bad feet! ‘How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news!’” He said, quoting from the Bible. He opened one of the bags on his belt and put some kind of salve on Joe’s feet. At first it tingled, and then his feet got really warm. “Let’s let that work. You hungry?”

“Yes.”

Luther took another bag and shook out what looked like trail mix into Joe’s hand. He tried to be polite and only eat a piece at a time, but finally he just shoved the whole of it into his mouth. They sat in silence for a while and Luther seemed to relax somewhat. Even so, he got up every few minutes and walked up and down the trail.

Joe’s curiosity finally got the best of him, “What are you looking for, Luther?”

“Ah, rug rats and stray cats. The boys of summer. Don Ho. Huey, the Olson twins, Dewey, Prince Charles, and Louie. Joe, let me make you an offer you can’t refuse. Let me take you to my place. You can stay until you are ready to make the journey. Okay? Say okay, Joe.”

“Okay.”

They walked along the trail for maybe a mile through the forest. Luther was careful to go slow enough for Joe to keep up. Then he made a quick right turn onto a little path Joe would have missed completely. The path went through progressively denser trees until Joe had to duck and push branches out of the way. Then all at once the trees opened up and they were in a clearing. There was a lake in the clearing and on the other shore a log cabin. They walked around the lake to the cabin. On the left of the cabin was a garden with a high fence around it. On the right was a small building. The cabin had a covered porch. The door was in the center of the cabin and there were windows on either side of the door.

Inside the cabin was only one room, but it had a bed and a table with a couple of stools. There was a loft over the bed. Underneath the window to the left was a small sink. There was a stone fireplace to Joe’s right. There didn’t appear to be any electricity, but the sink did have a faucet, so there must be running water. Surprisingly there was a photograph on the wall over the bed of a young man and woman. Joe saw a Bible on a nightstand next to an old hurricane lamp. There were several other candles set at different places around the cabin. There were some basic dishes on the counter next to the sink, and some cooking gear next to the fireplace. Other than that, the room was free of any typical comforts of home. The room smelled earthy, but clean. The cabin didn’t get a lot of direct sunlight, so it was kind of dark inside. Luther lit a few of the candles, and when he did Joe noticed two eyes staring down at him from the loft. Luther saw the worried look on Joe’s face. “That’s just my cat,” he explained. As if on cue the cat came down the ladder. It was a large black cat.

“What’s your cat’s name?” Joe asked.

“Spot,” Luther answered. Joe stared at him.

“You know, like one big spot. Kinduva joke, Joe. Man you need to laugh more. You know that? Like Ike. I mean I like Ike,” he said nodding. “That should be self-explanatory, so I’m just lettin’ it go. Don’t ask. Look, I’m going to make some stew. If you want to lie down go ahead. The outhouse is back of the cabin. I got some meat hanging in the root cellar I need to use up. So make yourself at home.” With that he went outside. Joe took one of the stools and sat on the porch. After he sat there a while all the troubles of the past few days slipped away. Joe thought that this might be the most peaceful place he had ever known. He could hear Luther busy at his stew. Soon the smell of vegetables and meat cooking drifted out to Joe. Almost immediately it made his mouth water and his stomach growl. He couldn’t wait. But then he thought, “Didn’t I wait? I haven’t had a decent meal since I was on the ship. It was hard, but not impossible.” Joe began to realize how soft he had been most of his life.

Luther stuck his head out the door, “Stew’s up, Joe.” Joe took his stool back inside and they sat at the table. Then Luther said, “Let’s pray.” Joe noticed that Luther didn’t bow his head like so many people Joe had seen. He raised his face toward the sky, closed his eyes and spread his hands out palms up. “Almighty God,” he began, “I thank you for this food. You are good and may we be worthy of this blessing. Amen.” The stew was pretty basic fare, but it was tasty and filling. For Joe it was a feast for a king. Luther had made some biscuits in a Dutch oven. He had homemade blackberry jam which Joe slathered on liberally. Essentially Joe ate everything Luther didn’t eat. When they slid back from the table there was nothing left.

After the meal they took their stools and went out to the porch. They sat in silence mostly, except every few minutes Luther would take a quick breath and say “You know…” or “remember the time…?” and drift back into silence stroking his beard. Joe wasn’t sure who he was talking to. Spot wandered out and rubbed against Joe’s leg then ran after some little creature in the grass. Finally, Joe said, “Luther”-

-“You can call me LJ,” Luther interrupted.

“LJ, can you help me find the Sixth Truth?”

“Does God pervert justice?” Luther asked.

“What do you mean?” Joe asked in return. But Luther just said: “The Lord is known by his justice…For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.”

Joe was beginning to see the flow of Luther’s thought, but then he voiced the question he’d thought about the night before: “If God was the Ruler of the universe, why didn’t he at least make sure that good things happened to his friends? Luther, I committed my life to God. I am a true follower of The Way. Why are bad things happening to me? That’s not just!”

 “Ah! Hmmm…so you know all about justice, I see.” Luther said.

He had Joe there. In fact Joe had to admit he didn’t really know that much about God. He’d only a believer a few days. “No, Luther. I guess I don’t know all about justice.” Then Luther said: “Joe, would you like to stay here until you’re better?”

“Sure, but uh, why did you ask that now?”

“Noonday sun, Joe!” he exclaimed as if any sane person would know what that meant.

“I don’t understand.”

“Ah, yes, but you need to, don’t you think?”

“Okay, Luther. I’ll stay until I’m better. Thank you.”

Joe ended up staying two weeks. Luther told Joe to take the bed because of his feet. Luther slept in the loft with Spot. Every day when Joe got up Luther was already gone. Joe didn’t know where he went. All Luther said when Joe asked was, “Face time.” They ate one ‘formal’ meal a day in the early evening. The rest of the day they nibbled on vegetables from a little garden Luther grew, and nuts and berries he’d gathered from someplace. They sat for many hours on the porch or down by the lake talking. Joe told Luther his whole story. How he came down from the mountain, how Philo, Abigail and the others helped him. Of course it was not like a normal conversation. When Luther talked Joe had to ask for clarification many times. But it seemed like Luther appreciated it, and Joe imagined that he was actually getting more comprehensible.

Physically, Joe was getting better every day. His nose and ribs were healing, and his bruises were fading. He swam some in the lake, which was good for him, but walking was still painful. Joe didn’t feel he had a handle on the Sixth Truth yet. Every day he and Luther talked about it, but the concept of God’s justice seemed out of reach. Then one day Luther began talking about the Kingdom of God and things began to fall in place.

“Do you remember,” Luther asked one day “what the Kingdom of God is?”

“Didn’t you say yesterday that the Kingdom of God is the rule of God?”

“That I did, Joe. Now, how long is a ruler?”

“LJ, I think that is a math question,” Joe corrected.

“Ah, Joe, I keep fixing the holes where the rain gets in, but…hmmm. Okay, the Kingdom of God is the rule of God. But we know from experience that not everyone does what the Ruler wants, yes?”

“Yes,” Joe said.

“And yet there are many like yourself who submit to his rule, and do his will. But that doesn’t mean we will escape trouble.” Luther got up and went inside. He came back out looking through his Bible. He stopped, and without looking up said, “Says here ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.’”

“Where’s that?” Joe asked.

“Book of Acts, chapter fourteen, verse 22. If it were a perfect world, God’s kingdom would be over all, and no one would suffer, but that’s just not true. His rule is not strictly universal, even though he has power over everything. We also know that the once and future King will return to finally rule over all. So the Kingdom of God has both a present and future character to it.”

“I can see that,” Joe responded.

“Justice is tied to the Kingdom, Joe.”

“So then,” Joe said excitedly, “justice also has a present and future character to it.”

“B-I-N-G-O,” Luther sang, “and bingo is your name!”

“So Bruiser or Rich may prosper now, but in the end they will face God’s justice, and unless they change, it will not be pleasant. Abigail, on the other hand, may suffer now, but also in the end she will face God’s justice. Only for her it will be a reward, not a punishment.”

“Joe, you have discovered the power of the Sixth Truth!” Luther exclaimed.

“Power? How is that?” Joe asked.

“Think about it Joe. If you look for justice in this life you will either become frozen by fear, or kill yourself with effort. But if your eternal future is secure you have incredible power right now. Nothing can hurt you. You’re immortal ‘till the Lord takes you. If God is for us, who can be against us, Joe? ^{ ‘}Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.’ Hey, all this theology is making me hungry. Let’s go pick some berries.”

Questions:

1. What is the Sixth Truth?

2. How do Joe’s difficulties relate to this truth?

3. In what ways did God provide for Joe?

4. What biblical truths are illustrated here?

5. How was the beach both Joe’s prison and his salvation?

6. What is the significance of the white stone? (Read Revelation 2:17)

7. What do you think Luther meant by “face time”?

8. How is justice tied to the Kingdom of God?

9. What is the power of the Sixth Truth?