It is said that there are no atheists in
foxholes.
It was a time of war...a time of battle, lives
lost forever on a field of sorrow. The general in charge
was a religious man...a man of letters... a man of the word. He
felt compelled to insure that the men in his command, his men...did
not go to meet their maker unprepared. At his own expense,
he bought and issued a bible to each and every soldier. And
Sunday
services were required.
Yes, this was long ago, a time when our country was
quarreling with itself. So, you might understand that the general
was both taken back and affronted when it was reported to him that on
this Sunday...a soldier was caught gambling and not in services.
The man was brought before him, deck of cards in hand. When an
explanation was demanded as to why the soldier was desecrating the
Sabbath,
the man said, that he was not gambling, only playing with the
cards.
Here is his story, as he
explained it to the general.
- The
ace or the card with one spot tells me that there is but one God.
- The
card with two spots reminds me that the Bible is divide into two parts,
- the
old and the new testaments.
- The
trey - that there are three persons in the trinity.
- The
four spotted card tells me that the New Testament was written by the
four
Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
- The
five - that there were five foolish and five wise virgins.
- The
six - reminds me that God created the world in six days.
- Seven,
of
course,
the
Sabbath
and
that
he
rested on that seventh day.
- The
card with eight spots serves to remind me of the eight beatitudes,
perhaps the greatest sermon preached by our Lord.
- The
nine card tells me of the nine lepers who did not return to the Savior
to give thanks.
- The
ten - for the ten commandments.
- The
Jack....the jack is the knave, the Devil who goes about seeking the
destruction of souls.
- The
Queen is the Mother of Heaven, the Mother of God.
- The King, is the Kingdom of Heaven
which will be my reward of a good life.
- But
the deck of cards is even more. The pack is an almanac.
- There
are
fifty
two
cards
in
the
deck,
telling me there are fifty-two Sundays
in the year. Add up all the spots and you will find 365 in
all, telling me there are 365 days in the year.
- There
are
thirteen
cards
to
a
suite,
which
tells me there are thirteen lunar
months in the year.
- In
all, there are twelve face cards, which reminds me there are twelve
calendar months to each year.
- There
are
four
suites,
hearts,
diamonds,
spades
and
clubs, signifying the
four seasons, spring, winter, summer and fall. People see what
they want to see.
It is
written, that the story is true.
But whether
it is true or not, it is a lesson for all of us on how we see our world.
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