The sun had long departed, and now the revealing light it brought was finally gone. The moon did not rise that night nor did the stars shine. It was as if God Himself had snuffed out all natural light and thrown a blanket of darkness over the land. The energy and noise which had filled the streets earlier had disappeared and been replaced with utter silence and absolute stillness, but no one gave it any thought. Besides the occasional officer on patrol, all were comfortably tucked away into their beds, wiping away fatigue from the tough day of work. One by one the lights in the houses started flicking off for the night, signaling the hooded figure to make his move.
The night scene of the silent street was a collage of dim streetlights and shadows. One shadow, out of place, did not shift with the wind as the shadows of the trees, but neither did it remain in one place as the shadows of the buildings. It was creeping, crawling, traveling down the street toward a little shop with the sign “Van Den Brooke Watches”. It carefully evaded streetlights, instead embracing the safety of the concealing blackness. The shadow arrived unnoticed at the watch shop and slipped quietly down the alley to the side door. It expertly picked the lock and the door easily swung open. The dark form took a cautious step inside; the old wooden floor creaked much louder than what the figure would have preferred. It remembered to be wary, for old man Van Den Brooke and his family lived upstairs.
In mere moments the valuables were all in a bag and the shadow was ready to disappear, but the figure froze when faint voices started coming from above. It sounded as though the Van Den Brooke family was getting ready to go somewhere, quite strange for this hour. The intruder took no chances and bolted out the door. It dashed out of the alley and crashed into a man who came unexpectedly from around the corner.
A large police officer, being violently thrown to the ground by the unknown person, quickly rose to his feet to identify the cause. He noticed scattered pieces of gold and silver and knew he had a lawbreaker on his hands. As he tried to figure out who it was he made the mistake of looking into the dark person’s face, for what he saw cast a paralyzing fear over his body. He had seen many things before and was by no means a coward, but the look of evil in the eyes of this hooded figure could have unnerved a rock.
The shadow took advantage of the delayed movement of the officer and dashed into the street. The policeman, finally coming to his senses, yelled for assistance. A fellow officer quickly came to his aid.
Now hearing two pairs of footsteps, the thief paused for an instant, wondering where to go. With acute sensitivity, an instinct, the figure instantly vanished around the corner of a building, melding itself into the wall, and became undetectable there in the dark. It didn’t speak or move, but watched with a piercing gaze as the officers passed by, both winded. With a clear path to safety, the shadow silently took off for the woods only a short distance away.
“Stop thief!” The two officers shouted in unison. They had caught a glimpse of the dark form. It darted into the forest for shelter, where it was undetectable under the gloomy cover of darkness. The police gave up chase at the tree line. They knew that they had no possible way of finding the ghost-like figure amidst the trees.
The figure kept on running, unaware that his pursuers had given up the chase. While flitting in and out between trees, the dark person failed to notice the almost invisible barbed wire fence. It struck the thief, sending air exploding from his lungs while his head was sent sprawling into an unfriendly rock. Everything in sight became a blur, and the mysterious figure drifted into sleep.
“He’s awake!” A man shouted.
“Where, where am I?” asked the dark figure worriedly.
“You’re fine; you’re with friends,” answered the man. “Just stay still. You’ve got a nasty cut there on your head.” The man left to join the group.
The dark figure knew he couldn’t stay. He couldn’t risk being caught, so he struggled to his feet and his head began to swim. At the moment he was in a clearing, probably in the forest, and there were about twenty other people of varying ages gathered around a fire. They spoke softly, as though they too were trying to remain unnoticed. He couldn’t figure out what was going on.
The group formed a circle around the small fire, joined hands, and started singing. The music was soothing to the battered man as he tried to make out the words. The song was about some man named Jesus. That was it! He finally understood what was taking place in this small, deserted clearing. He didn’t know many details, but he knew that here in Germany it was illegal for some types of Christians to have church. He had heard rumors that fanatics were disregarding the law and risking their very lives to worship in secret places. Why they would put their lives on the line for some dead Jewish man was beyond him, but at least he knew he was at safe with fellow lawbreakers. For the meantime he didn’t need to worry.
“All right, settle down. It’s time for the sermon,” bellowed a large man, the leader of the group. The dedicated assembly then began to hold hands and earnestly pray. The sermon started and the injured man lie drinking in every word spoken, unable to quench his thirst.
“So, what did you think of the message?” asked the same man who had tended the newcomer earlier. The message had been amazing! If all of what the speaker had said was true, he had been missing out on something too wonderful for words. However, he had quite a few questions that needed answering.
“Very good,” answered the crook after finally deciding what to say. He showed only a fraction of the enthusiasm he really felt. Somehow his heart, the hard, cold product brought on by thirty years of hate and bitterness, was beginning to melt. For the first time in a long while he felt hope.
For hours the dark man had been drawing important answers out of the man who first helped him. “So, even after all the bad things I’ve done, God still loves me?” The burglar was now sobbing uncontrollably; something he hadn’t done since he was a child. He was surprised, because before this moment he didn’t think that he would ever cry again.
“That’s right. He wants you just the way you are.” said the man who then showed the melting thief a corresponding Bible verse. “All you need to do is tell Jesus you are sorry. Then ask him to save you from all of the sins of your past.”
“And He’ll do it?”
“You can count on it. God never lies.”
The dark man prayed a short, humble prayer and instantly felt the shroud of darkness leave. He had been miraculously transformed into a child of the light, and now felt the magnificent freedom it brought.
For the first time the dark figure left the concealment of the shadows and walked into the warmth of the firelight. The small remnant of believers cheered. They could have left hours ago, but instead stayed to enjoy the exciting transformation of this man’s dark soul into one of radiance.
The new believer knew his life needed much clearing up, but that could wait till morning. Right now he desperately needed some rest. As the group was clearing up all evidence of the meeting, the kind man who led the new believer to Christ asked, “Do you have a place to stay? If not, you’re more than welcome to spend a time living with my family. We can help you get grounded in the word of God.”
“I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” said the new believer. Then, for the first time, he realized his bag of stolen watches was missing. He’d have to go find and return them to the watch shop first thing in the morning.
“Sir,” asked the new believer. “What’s your name? I forgot to ask earlier.”
“Well, by most I’m known as old man Van Den Brooke.” Van Den Brooke let a smile escape and took a large bag of watches out from under his coat. The new convert couldn’t believe it. Van Den Brooke cared enough to bring him life, even after he had robbed the watchmaker’s business. Just as God forgave him earlier, this man was also forgiving him. Tonight he had definitely been shown the miracle of mercy.
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