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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