Storytime! =)

Once a upon a time in Egypt, there lived a Pharaoh and his beautiful palace. The city was joyful, everyone was happy la la la la la. Now there was a famine, and this has caused lack of food all over the country. Luckily for Pharaoh and his people, they were well stocked in, and perhaps in anticipation of this famine, the Pharaoh has already summoned his people to gather as much as they can, so that they can not only use it for surviving, they can help other people as well.

One day, his fellow men came to him with a report, saying, "We have found out that there has been someone stealing food. We can't go on feeding the people if this keeps happening."

The Pharaoh said: "How dare the thief!!! Hence I lay this law: that whoever is caught stealing food shall be whipped, PUBLICLY." So the rule was set throughout the whole city, and everyone was afraid. Not the thief though.

Of course, one cannot get away from stealing forever, and even though such things as CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, or even FBI for that matter, did not exsist during that time, the thief was eventually caught.

His fellow men came back to him once again. One of them said: "Your Highness, we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is we caught the thief. The bad news is: The thief is YOUR MOTHER."

Stunned and taken aback, the Pharaoh didn't know what to think. He's in a dilemma: He has set the rule, and if he does not follow it, the villages will not trust him. On the other hand, he loved his mother, and he certainly cannot think of an 80 year-old being with like that. "She'll die," he said to himself.

The day of the whipping came, and his mother was all set to be whipped. Executers on the ready, whips chosen, and it was about to begin. The Pharaoh sat on his seat motionless, when suddenly he sprang unto his feet, ran to his mother like a possesed man, and said, "Stop!!! Stop all this!!!" And to the huge surprise of everyone, including his fellow men, he took off his clothes, and said: "WHIP ME INSTEAD."

This is exactly what Jesus has done for US on the Cross. God was in Pharaoh's shoe: He was a fair and just God, and He punishes the wicked. Yet at the same time, He loves us so much, because HE IS LOVE. So He sent His Son Jesus to take our place instead, and to die for US worthless sinners, so that we, like the Pharaoh's mother, can be saved.

Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and FALLEN SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.