The Greatest Fool

Revelation 19:7 - “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”

The Greatest Fool

In the days of Kings and Knights and Court Jesters, there was a particular King who called his official Court Jester before him. He handed the Jester a tall and very decorative pole, and as he handed it to the Jester, he said, "This is a symbol of the greatest fool in all the kingdom and I give it to you as a sign of your position in this land." Everyone laughed and the years passed by with the Jester and his decorative pole often being in attendance at court.

One day the King called the Court Jester into his presence beside his royal bed. The king told the Jester that he was dying, and would soon go to the land of departed souls. The Jester asked, "Your majesty, what language do they speak in this land?" The king replied, "I don't know!" The Jester continued, "What provisions do you need to make for your trip to this land?" Again the King replied, "I don't know!" "Please be patient with me your majesty," the Jester continued, "But what are the people like over there? What plans have you made for your trip to make sure you will be happy when you get to your destination?" All the king could say was, "I don't know - I just don't know!"

"How long O King have you known you would have to go to this land?" The king answered, "All my life I have known that one day I must take this journey." At this point the Jester handed the decorated pole the king had given him back to the king. "What is this for?," the king asked. The Jester, head bowed in respect replied, "Sir, you said that this pole belongs to the greatest fool in all the land. So, I must give it to you, your majesty, because you tell me that all your life you have known you must go to this distant land and yet by your own answers, you have confessed that you have done nothing to prepare for your journey. You don't know the language they speak, you didn't try and find out what provisions you might need for your trip, or even bother to find out if you had any choice of destinations." The Jester concluded, "You see your majesty, you knew you must make this journey and yet you have failed to make any preparations at all. Sir, with all due respect, your failure to get ready for this eternal journey makes you the biggest fool in all the kingdom!"

The moral is: We are all going to die one day and yet few of us concern ourselves with investigating what will happen to us when we die, or prepare for that eternal journey. If in our foolishness we find hell to be our eternal destination and could have, with a little preparation gained Heaven as our home - we deserve a symbol of our position as the greatest fools among men!

- David Miser, [e-mail]

Matthew 24:44 - Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.