Ten Pirates invade a King’s ship. They beat and rape the King’s entire family, and begin pillaging all the goods.

The King arrives in his rowboat, and from the water can see what’s going on. He shouts to the pirates, “Stop now, and I will be merciful to you, and forgive you!” (desire for all to repent, and not to die in sins).

The Pirates bring out his family and rape and murder them on the deck, while laughing at the King. As they get drunk on the wine from the ship they do even more perverse things with the bodies all while the King watches in horror, and rage. They yell insults and taunts at the King and light the sails on fire. The ship begins to go up in flames.

In their drunkenness they pass out, fall overboard into the water and begin to drown. The King yells to their unconscious bodies “Climb into my boat, if you want to live!” (universal call to spiritually dead people who can’t and won’t respond [dead in sins and tresspasses]).

The King is moved in his love and decides, in order to show how merciful he is, to save three of the pirates. He could have saved all ten, but rightfully decrees that the others will die for their sins. He pulls the chosen three from the water, moments before they die, and gives them CPR. All three are revived (regeneration).

When the pirates come to, the King commands them to repent and bow before him as Lord (Inward call to the elect). All three wretchedly guilty pirates realize what they’ve done, and how the King saved them, and they begin to weep. They wail with tears and express how sorry they are, and how they now know what a great King he is. They then request to become his slaves (faith and repentance). He forgives them completely, takes the boat to his castle, adopts the pirates, and makes them all princes. They are forever changed by his mercy, and from that day forward they rule with him in righteousness.

When you see the severity of man’s sinfulness you can no longer ask “Why didn’t the King save all ten pirates?”.

When you see men for what they truly are, that question is completely eclipsed by “How could a righteous, angry King give such amazing grace to the three?”.

The rickety wooden door swings open and the blinding sunlight shines onto your face. You quickly raise your hand to cover your eyes, but you’re looking, squinting, terrified, past your hand to see who’s breaking into your room.

The figure in the doorway doesn’t hesitate, it starts walking toward you. He’s walking strongly, he’s intent, he’s confident. When he comes close enough to block the glaring light, he looks down at you and you can see his face. He looks strangely familiar. He sort of looks like the Jesus you’ve heard about, but you know he was a myth. There’s something different about him, this man is strong, he has a mission, and, well, he’s real.

He kneels down and looks into your face. You’re afraid to the point of shaking, but you’re not shaking. Your mouth hangs open and your eyes don’t blink. Your mind races, ‘Will he destroy me? Will it be worse than that?’.  But he smiles kindly and a rush of trust comes over you. You know you’re in good hands.

The air in the room gets thicker, pressure builds, you can almost hear wind rushing into the room as the moment becomes very intense. The man slowly lifts his hand as he continues to kindly smile at you. Then it happens… He quickly and violently plunges his hand into your chest. In shock you look down and see the blood as he wraps his fingers around your heart. You can feel the tightening as he firmly grasps it, and in one quick  motion he tears your still beating heart from your chest. Blood flies everywhere.

He holds your heart a few inches from your face. It’s black, it’s diseased, it’s absolutely disgusting.  It’s still beating, attempting to circulate it’s black poisonous blood through you. For the first time, you see what was inside you, and you hate it.

The man then pulls out a hammer and large nail. A cross appears in the room and the man drives the spike through your filthy, sinful, prideful, God-hating heart. Black ooze pours down the cross. You hear the heart screaming blasphemous sins. It’s telling you to put it back in, it’s telling you to continue in the life you’ve enjoyed for so long. Your arms and legs twitch as they hear commands from the only master they’ve ever known, but you hold them back, you know that wretched thing is no longer your king.

The man turns back to you, and you anxiously await his next move. You’re in pain, but you’re breathless with anticipation. Even if it’s equally as violent, you are convinced it will be for your good.

He glances down and reaches his hand slowly into his own chest. He pulls out a duplicate of his own heart and holds it out for you to see. It’s beautiful. The heart shines with purity, it’s spotless and perfect. He gently places it into the gaping hole in your chest and when he removes his hand the wound perfectly heals around it.

Immediately you feel the holy blood pumping through your veins. Your desires are changed. Everything is new, and your allegiance is inextricably linked to this man. You are a new creation.

Together, you walk out of the room, into the light.

“The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” -Genesis 6:5

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” -Jeremiah 17:9

“And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,” -Ezekiel 11:19