Our God makes very clear the need for us to be courageous – being likened to strong and valiant soldiers.
What does fear do?
In a land at war, there was a king who caused astonishment: Every time he took prisoners, he did not kill them, he took them to a room, which had a group of archers on one side, and a huge iron door on the other, on which skull figures were engraved. In this room, he made them stand in a circle, and then said: “You can choose: die shot by arrows from my archers or pass through that door and by me and there be locked in”.
All who passed through there chose to be killed by the archers. At the end of the war, a soldier who had served the king for a long time said to him:
- Sir, may I ask you a question?
- Speak, soldier.
- What was behind that frightening door?
- Go and see.
The soldier then opens it slowly, and realizes that, as he does, rays of sun enter and illuminate the environment until it is fully opened. He also notices that the door led to a path covered with flowers, which would lead towards freedom.
The astonished soldier merely looked at his king, who says: “I gave them the choice, but they preferred to die rather than risk opening this door”.
How many doors do we fail to open in our lives for fear of taking risks? How many times do we lose freedom, just for fear of opening other doors? Who knows, if from now on, being more courageous in this life, we could open that door that will show us the beautiful path of fulfilling our oldest dreams?