Peace (Part 6)

Just when he thought he would faint, he heard boots running down the path toward him. “Don’t worry!” a man called out as he scooped his hands under Judson’s shoulders to lift him up. “I know you seek the King. He heard your cry for help, and He sent me to bring you to Him. I am his Son; we both know of your Burden of Great Heaviness, and we have very good news for you!” He helped Judson walk up the hill to the castle gate. And without ceremony, Judson and the Prince burst into the Great Throne Room.

“Father! He’s here! He’s come at last!”

For a long moment, the King silently looked deep into Judson’s eyes. When he finally spoke, He said, “What is it that you want, Judson?”

This was not what Judson had expected the King to say. It seemed to him that the King and the Prince already knew what he wanted. But now that he had been asked, really for the first time in his life, he wasn’t so sure he knew the answer.

“I want… to not have a topsy-turvy stomach, or itchy-scratchy skin, or a clogged and stuffy head, or an empty-achy heart. I want to not feel this Burden of Great Heaviness. I want to feel light and free and…” What do I want?

“Peace,” the King finished. “Most of all, you want Peace that only I can give, don’t you, Judson?”
Judson had never heard the word before, but as soon as the King said it, he knew it was the Remedy. He couldn’t speak a word, so Judson just approached the King with his head bowed. The King stepped down from His throne and laid a hand on Judson’s head.

“I lift the Great Heaviness from you, and all its dreadful symptoms. In its place I lay upon you now this burden of Peace and Light. It is my burden for my people throughout the Great Kingdom.”

As Judson looked up, the King covered him in a long, grey woolen cloak that was thick and warm, but remarkably weightless. “Your faith has brought you here,” the King continued. “You tried to save yourself but learned it was impossible without Me – nothing can truly heal and satisfy like Me. I now call you my good friend, and I name you the Great Wizard of the Great Kingdom.”

As the King spoke, Judson felt his life changing. His load was indeed lighter: there was peace in his heart. To his surprise, there were also long whiskers growing from his chin! “As a final gift to you, Great Wizard,” the King said, with a twinkle in his eye, “I grant you a long, white beard as a token of the wisdom and authority I give you. Through my power and with my blessing, you will travel far and wide seeking out those I love. You will share the Good News of what I have done for you, and you will lead them to Me.”

That evening, the King and His Son held a royal feast for the Great Wizard Judson, to celebrate and commission him to go on the first of many quests – grand adventures planned by the King for his glory and good pleasure. And wherever he went, Judson carried with him the great burden of Good News and Peace to all.