Read Online The Kingdom Land by Bart Tuma - Free Book Online Page A

school on the bus.
There was a note on the table along with the dirty dishes saying he
had to run some errands in town. He wasn’t home when I went to bed,
which wasn’t unusual, but it was unusual when uncle Henry showed up
later next to my bed, tapping my shoulder.
    â€œ I remember a lot of things about
dad, but I can’t remember the words my uncle told me. I knew what
he was saying, but I can never remember the exact words. Dad had
driven home late at night. His Buick had hit the ditch and flipped
straight into a telephone pole. He had died immediately, they said.
They didn’t say anything about him being drunk, but everyone
knew.”
    Erik lifted his eyes from looking straight into the
coffee cup to looking straight into John’s eyes, wishing he had
some answers.
    â€œ I should have never asked about
your parents,” were John’s first words. “You should be excited
about your new life with Christ, and I’ve changed the subject to
what people can do wrong. I shouldn’t have done that.
    â€œ The reason I asked is, what happens
in our life is important. We aren’t just looking up at heaven and
not affected by what’s happening here. But I’m sorry. I’m sorry for
what you’ve faced and I’m sorry for asking about something that was
none of my business.”
    â€œ That’s fine. I would rather tell
you the story than have someone tell it wrong, and make up more
lies. I know there’re plenty of lies out there about what happened.
You may as well hear the truth.”
    â€œ But this isn’t the time,” John’s
voice rose with conviction, “to be pulled back to the past. The
greatest day in you life just happened, and that’s all that’s
important. I can’t fathom how much hurt you must have lived with.
But a new life has opened its door within you. Your heavenly Father
isn’t too busy or too pre-occupied to simply sit with you and hear
all you want to say.
    â€œ He loves you Erik. He loves you
more than you know. I don’t know about your parents. Sometimes
people get distracted and forget what’s important, but Christ;
Christ wants to be with you. The Bible says God is our Abba Father.
That means He is the most intimate Father possible.”
    â€œ I thought I came here to get
breakfast, and I had a lot of questions in my head. I didn’t even
ask the question that matters; yet, you just answered it. You said
to keep it simple. What you said about God being my Father is
simply what I needed to know. Is this how God works? Does He bring
you to a place where you went to by accident, and then He answers
you?”
    â€œ Yeah, Erik, I think you’re right.
God has a way in leading us so He can show He’s watching after
us.”
    Erik suddenly realized the restaurant wasn’t as busy
as it had been.
    â€œ John, I probably made you late for
church.”
    â€œ I can go to church any Sunday. I
don’t as often have a chance to meet a new friend and be excited
with him.”
    Erik thought of his own responsibilities. “The first
thing I need to do is check in with my aunt before she sends out
the search teams. After that I need to get cleaned up. Hey, this is
my day off. I was going to relax and now look at me.” Erik picked
up his check, and was ready to leave.
    â€œ Sorry, I’ve got that.” John pulled
the check out of Erik’s hand. “Don’t make me a liar, too. I said
I’d buy you breakfast. I have something else for you,
too.”
    John pulled a small leather bound book from his back
pocket. He handed it to Erik. It was a Bible.
    â€œ You might want this to answer a lot
more questions,” John said. “It’s just the New Testament and
Psalms, but it’s small so you can always have it close
by.”
    â€œ I can’t take this. It looks like
you’ve had it a long time, and it has all your notes in it.” Erik
added as he