One Night With The King

Lillian, Katherine, and Samantha, three ladies who live in different worlds and at different places each received a special invitation card one fateful day.
“What is it?” Katherine asked as her nanny as she applied her make-up.
“It is an invitation card to a private dinner…”
“Oh really? Let me have a look.” She took it from her. She snorted as she gave it back to her.
“Why, what is it?”
“It’s an invitation to “one night with the king.” I’ve heard stories of other ladies who were invited to this. Can you believe it’s just a boring session about ‘living right’ with some old dude?! I’m so not sacrificing my good time tonight to attend this whatever-it-is,” she sneered.
“It has a noble touch to it though,” the nanny commented as she observed the card.
“Yeah…that is to lure ignorant, silly girls to whatever dinner he’s planning.”
“So…you won’t go?”
“Of course not!” Kathy shouted. “Drop that in the waste basket before I consider your dismissal!” She dropped the card into the basket with a thud.

Lillian saw the card lying in front of the door and picked it up. She read it.
“Hmmm…it finally got to my turn. I can’t wait to go to this!” She said happily.
“What is making you all excited?” her friend Roxy asked as she walked towards her. Lillian showed her the card.
“I finally got invited to ‘one night with the king!”
“Oh that…and you’re not going to that, right?”
“Of course I am, Roxy! You know how much and how long I’ve wanted to have a fresh start with my life. All these wild parties and silly things we do aren’t getting me anywhere,” Lillian admitted.
“Seriously, you’re going to give this fun life up for some boring righteous kind of living because some old self-appointed king is throwing you a private dinner party?”
“It’s not because of the party, Roxy; this is about me. I really want to change. I’m going to look for a dress. Excuse me,” she said and walked away.
Roxy chuckled. “As if we haven’t had this conversation before…”
“How do I look?” Lillian asked when Roxy entered her room. Lillian was checking herself out in front of her dressing mirror.
“You look like you’re going to a royal ball or something,” she replied with disdain.
“And that’s exactly what I’m going for; I’ve been invited to ‘one night with the king!’ Come on, I know you don’t agree with me on this but could you please be happy for me? I hope one day it would be you and you’d take the chance.”
“I’d tear it up before the inscription even gets registered in my memory.”
Lillian gave her a tight smile and tapped her shoulder. “I hope you change your mind when the day comes.” She took her purse and walked out of the room.
The front door opened.
“Hey Lily!” Lillian and Roxy stopped. It was Frank, their friend, holding a bottle of champagne.
“Wait, are you going somewhere?” he asked.
“The dress speaks for itself,” Lillian replied.
“And what is the occasion that you have to wear such a long dress?” he asked.
“She has been invited to ‘one night with the king,” Roxy answered. Frank burst into laughter. The two ladies glanced at each other. Frank stopped laughing when he saw the look on their faces.
“Are you serious?”
“So it seems,” Roxy said.
“But…we have a great party to attend tonight. Have you forgotten, Lily?”
“No, I haven’t; I’ve been looking forward for such an opportunity to change. I think it’s time I moved on. These parties are taking me nowhere.”
“Well if you should know, Michael would be there. You know you’ve been looking forward to meet him.”
“Well, that can wait. I have to go. I don’t want to keep His Majesty waiting,” Lily said, walking past them.
“And Nathaniel will be there too.” Lillian stopped. She turned to look at them.
“Yes…I got him to come; this could be your last chance to have a shot at having him as your prince charming,” Frank said. Lillian glanced at Roxy.
“It’s your choice to make Lily, either to take this chance to finally be with the guy you’ve been dreaming of since forever or trade it to spend you-knows-how-many-hours with ‘the king,’” Roxy said. Lillian sighed.
“Come on Lily, you’ve the chance to get your dream job and your dream guy at the same time at the same place. What else could surpass that?”
Lillian’s phone beeped. She took it out of her purse. She gasped.
“Oh gosh! Anna Tyler is going to be there! I can get the chance to convince her about my proposal again! This is great!” Lillian said, all excited. Frank and Roxy glanced at each other with a knowing smile.
“Okay…you win; I’m going to change. I’ll be right back,” she said as she walked past them towards her room. Her phone beeped again. She looked at it.

“Hope you’re on your way…will be expecting you-the King.”

“I’m sorry…maybe next time.” She deleted the message and entered the room.
Roxy and Frank did a triumphant hi-five when the door closed shut.

Samantha looked at the pill bottle with tears in her eyes. She opened it and poured about five pills into her palm and put the bottle down. She was about to pick up the glass of water on the table when the door opened. She hid her fistic hand behind her back.
“This came for you, Sam,” a middle-aged woman said, handing over the card to her.
“Thanks, Mrs. Benson.” The door closed behind her. She opened the envelope and took the card out.
“You have been invited to spend one night with the King over a private dinner…” She read out loud.
“What is this? Who is he and why me of all people?” Sam asked herself.
She looked at the pills in her palm and back at the card.
“Well, just one night won’t stop me from what I have to do.” She poured the pills back into the bottle and closed it. She took the card and walked out.
“Mrs. Benson, do you know what this is about? I’ve never heard of this “King” before or of this occasion, she asked her. The woman took the card from her and looked at it. She smiled and gave it back to her.
“You shouldn’t miss it for anything in the world, Sam.”
“What is it about?”
“It could be the night that would change your life forever.”
“He is a generous rich guy who could help me get out of this bottomless pit I’m in?”
Mrs. Benson smiled. “He can do more than that, dear.”
“Do you know him, this king?”
“Yes, I’m proud to say I do. My encounter with Him made a turning point in my life. You should go, Sam. He can turn your life around.”
“Really? After the mess I’ve found myself in, I don’t think anyone can untangle me from it.”
“Why not try it? You have nothing to lose if you do and you have nothing to gain if you don’t. Think about it,” Mrs. Benson said and walked away.
Samantha tapped the card with her fingers. “One night with the king it is.”

“Mrs. Benson, do I look appropriate for the occasion? It is the only dress decent enough I could find among my things,” Sam asked anxiously.
“You look adorable, girl. Don’t worry, with the King, it’s the heart that matters. He knows what the heart intends,” she replied with an encouraging smile.
“Thank you, Mrs. Benson. I’ll be on my way now. I’m afraid I’ll be a bit late.”
“He is ever patient, waiting for you dear…don’t worry.”
“Bye, ma’am.”
“Bye, my child.”

Sam stopped a cab and hopped in.
“Please take me to this address…”

She got out of the taxi and found herself gaping at a magnificent mansion beautifully lighted up.
“Is he sure this is the place…?” She wondered to herself.
The gate opened and a young man came out.
“Samantha Barnes, right?” She nodded.
“Please come in; the King is expecting you.” She entered. The man led her.
“What exactly is happening here?”
“You wait and see….”

They walked towards a well-kept garden lighted and a table of sumptuous delicacies set up.
“His Majesty…” The King who was staring into the open with his back towards them, turned.
“Samantha…you came!”
“Yes… I did. How…do you know me?” she asked.
“I’ll excuse myself.” The young man left.
“Why don’t you join me at the table, my lady?” They sat.
“I invited three ladies but only you turned up. I am very glad you did, Sam.”
“Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about coming since I don’t know who you are or what this is about,” Sam said.
“I understand. I invite people like you to share something important with them.”
“What do you mean by people like me?”
“What I meant is people who are frustrated in life, those who are looking for answers to life’s questions and those who are searching for something to believe in.”
“I guess I fit in all three categories.” They both chuckled.
“I must say I feel privileged to be invited to this dinner…although I don’t really know what it’s about. It makes me feel special.”
“That’s because you are special, Samantha. I believe as a young woman, you’ve gone through a lot and every question you ask brings in nothing but more questions instead of answers. But I want to tell you of the man Jesus. He’s the only one who makes life worthwhile living. Have you ever heard of Him?”
“Yes I have…most people swear with the name and some people claim to be his followers.” The King smiled.
“Well, let me tell you this story. This man isn’t just one of the people who walked on the earth to create a name for himself and then died away. He came for humanity’s sake. He came so that everyone can have eternal life in Him being reconciled with God the Father.”
“So this whole thing about him dying on a cross isn’t a myth?”
“No it’s not, Sam. You see, when the first Adam fell, mankind was separated from God. Sin drew us away from God and He being a God of love found it necessary to step in and save us. In the ancient days, one had to sacrifice an animal as a sin offering; but when Christ died, He paid the price for humankind once and for all. We don’t have to do anything to have our transgressions forgiven any longer.”
“No matter how many times you did something bad?” Sam asked.
“Yes, no matter how many times as long as you asked for His forgiveness. His blood was perfect enough to redeem us forever. If you believe in His name and what He did on the cross and confess Him as your Lord and Savior, you’re entitled to an eternal life in Him where no hurt or pain can get to you.”
“So if I let this Jesus in, all my problems would go away? He’ll fix everything for me?”
“That is not the case, Sam. Believing in Jesus doesn’t excuse you from life’s storms but the good news is, He will be the anchor for your soul and the refuge you can always run to. If you believe in Him, He will sail you through every problem life presents. You will enjoy peace and joy in your heart and mind that nothing in the world can steal away from you. His mercies which abound and His faithfulness which are new every morning will be your portion for the rest of your days on earth.”
“He offers all this for free?” Sam asked, astonished.
“Yes He does…the salvation He offers is free for all. Anyone can accept it.”
“This sounds….so good to be true…you know in this world, nothing goes for free.”
“I know…you would never know until you’ve tried Him.”
“So what do I have to do to have this Jesus in my life? With everything that is going on in my life right now, I really need this peace to calm me down.”
He held her hands.
“All it takes is to say this prayer with me believing it in your heart.”
“Okay…I’m ready.” She sighed.
“Dear Jesus, I thank you for this blessed opportunity to hear about what you did for me on the cross. I admit that I’m a sinner and I need you in my life as my Lord and personal savior. Forgive me for all the wrongs I’ve done with the cleansing power of your blood and make me new again. Thank you for answering me in Jesus’ name, Amen.” She said it after him and opened her eyes when it ended.
“Thank you…for this. I feel some weight being lifted off my shoulders…I feel I can breathe better now.”
“I’m glad you took this step, Sam. You won’t regret this.”
“I know I won’t. This invitation came in at the right time. I was going to do something silly…but I guess God stepped into my situation.”
“He did and He’ll never cease to. Now, let’s eat before the food turns cold.”

That night was the beginning of indescribable blessings in Samantha’s life. She heeded to the call and took a step. She heard of the man Jesus and what He had done for her more than 2000 years ago.
Jesus is still calling out to people today. Maybe you could be the king who would talk to others about Him or you could be the one He has called upon today.

Time is running out. Things in the world aren’t getting better but your eternity could be secured with Jesus. He never fails.
You’ve been invited to ‘one night with the king.” Will you honor the invitation?
I hope you do.