touch

"King Midas and the Christian Touch"

Some time ago there lived a king name Midas who was very wealthy and quite concerned about the encroachment of the pluralistic society on his kingdom. He spent much of his time fighting for prayer in schools. Curiously, however, he very seldom prayed with his lovely daughter, Christiana.

While the hot sun beat down in the afternoon, Christiana would play in the vineyard while King Midas thought about ways to revers the culture’s dreadful trend toward secularism.

“Please read to me,” said Christiana one day. She loved to hear Mother Goose rhymes, and because the king could not think of a Christian alternative, he took up the book and recited “Jack and Jill.”

At the part where Jack fell down, a thought came to him: if only everything in my kingdom could become Christian, the world would be a much better place. The would would be safe for my daughter, and I wouldn’t have to worry about lawsuits, unless of course it was a Christian world that didn’t read the Bible very carefully.

“If only I could have the power to make everything Christian,” he said aloud. “I would give anything to have that power, anything at all. As he stared into space as fathers sometimes do, Christiana said, “Come on, Dad, read!”

But her pleas fell on deaf ears, for all at once King Midas was stunned by a bright light and a piercing voice that said, “Your wish has been granted, King Midas. As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, anything you touch will become Christian.”

“Will it change into a deeply committed Christian thing or simply become lukewarm?” King Midas asked.

“That is for you to see,” said the voice - which being interpreted means, “It’s for me to know and you to find out.”

And find out he did. In the morning King MIdas awoke fitfully from sleep and found the mattress he was lying on had become Christian. The tag displayed the manufacturer’s name with addresses in Wheaton, Illinois, and Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Anything I touch now will become Christian, thought the king. How wonderful for my kingdom.

Immediately he jumped out of bed and put on his shoes, which became sandals. He ran down the stairway eagerly, looking for objects to touch, and came upon his daughter’s book of nursery rhymes. One touch, and instantly the book was transformed! Every story, every poem, now had a religious slant.

The king ran on to one of his favorite places, the royal baseball diamond. Players for the minor-league Nuggets were running wind sprints and chewing tobacco, which should be done only by professionals. Forgetting his gift, King Midas approached a particularly rugged player who was the star of the team. Upon seeing the king the slugger uttered a few unprintable words and offered his hand.

Instantly the chaw in his cheek and his stubby beard disappeared. “Praise the Lord,” he said to the king. “It’s a real blessing to meet you.”

I’ve never heard this player talk this way in postgame interviews, the king thought. Aloud he said, “You are certainly a talented young man.”

“Well, I just want to thank the good Lord,” the player said.

King Midas was overjoyed about the effect he was having on his kingdom. He ran in to a royal used care lot and leaned against one of the automobiles to catch his breath. Straightaway, each end of the care was graced with bumper stickers that said “One Way” and “Honk If You Love Jesus.” King Midas stepped into the dealer’s office and shook hands with the owner and his sales staff. They too turned Christian and began praising the Lord by offering markdowns on their inventory.

The king walked by the royal broadcasting center with its radio and television outlets and thought, Why not? Thus it came to be that one minute his kingdom was watching a talk show that paraded people with every known relational dysfunction across the screen. The next minute they were watching the same people being counseled by a Christian psychologist/faith healer.

King Midas was not only delighted in the change, he was ecstatic that all he had to do was touch a person or object to make it holy. No hard work, no prayer, no long days of waiting and struggling. Just a little touch, and each thing or person was converted.

Walking back toward the palace, he touched flowers and trees, which thereupon sprouted “Jesus Loves Me” buds. he met the gardener, an unkempt, bushyhaired individual with a long beard. When King Midas touched him, his hair turned three different shades of orange, and he went running toward the nearest televised sporting event to hold up a “John 3:16” sign.

The king approached two children who were playing with violent action toys. One touch, and the toys became biblical violent action toys with spears and slingshots.

A group of concerned politicians had gathered at the palace. When King Midas shook hands with them, they turned from the opposition party to the “League of Believers,” a new Christian coalition.

King Midas knew he had one important person left to touch. He found Christiana alone by the grapevines, reading her new Mother Goose book. He toucher her gently on the cheek and watched closely to observe the metamorphosis. To his surprise, he did not see any change. So he touched her shoulder a bit more firmly.

“What are you doing, Father?” she asked.

“I’m trying to turn you into a Christian,” he said, and grabbed her arm and shook it vigorously.

“Father,” she said meekly, “since my youth I have known of the things of God, as the Sunday School teachers have taught me. The words from the book about the man from Galilee, his perfect life, his perfect sacrifice, and the forgiveness he offers - that message touched my heart long ago.”

“Then I have been misled,” said the king. “I have thought all this time that I was making a society Christian. But you are saying it is not true. The voice I heard must have been lying.”

“The only One who can truly change our culture and the people in it is the One who touches the heart,” Christiana said with wisdom beyond her years. “You certainly have affected the outward appearance of men, such as the baseball player and the used-car salesman. But tomorrow one will put cork in his bat an the other will overcharge his customers for a brake job unless the Spirit reaches them.”

King Midas looked sad, and teardrops fell down his cheeks like so many little fish symbols. He loved his daughter even more because of the valuable lesson he had learned.

From that day forward he and Christiana devoted themselves to prayer for the kingdom. The regularly visited the poor, the widows and the orphans and set up a shelter for the homeless. They related the timeless message that the Great King of Glory loves people and wants them to know him. One by one people’s lives were changed, and the kingdom was never the same.




Chris Fabry, Spiritually Correct Bedtime Stories: Parables of Faith for the Modern Reader (Downers Grove: IVP, 1995)