“Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” - Luke 18:8

An aging king woke up one day to the realisation that should he drop dead, there would be no male in the royal family to take his place. He was the last male in the royal family in a culture where only a male could succeed to the throne - and he was aging.

He decided that if he could not give birth to a male, he would adopt a son who then could take his place. But he insisted that such an adopted son must be extraordinary in every sense of the word. So he launched a competition in his kingdom, open to all boys, no matter their background. Ten boys made it to the every top. There was little to separate these boys in terms of intelligence, physical attributes and capabilities.

The king announced, "I have one last test and whoever comes top will become my adopted son and heir to my throne." Then he said, "This kingdom depends solely on agriculture. So the king must know how to cultivate plants. Here is a seed of corn for each of you. Take it home and plant and nurture it for three weeks. At the end of three weeks, we shall see who has done the best job of cultivating the seed. That person will be my heir-apparent."

The boys took their seeds and hurried home. They each got a flower pot and planted the seed as soon as they got home. There was much excitement in the kingdom as the people waited with bated breath to see who was destined to be their next king.

In one home, the boy and his parents were almost heartbroken when after days of intense care, the seed failed to sprout. He did not know what had gone wrong with his. He had selected the soil carefully, he had applied the right quantity and type of fertilizer, he had been very dutiful in watering it at the right intervals, he had even prayed over it day and night; yet his seed had turned out to be unproductive. Some of his friends advised him to go and buy a seed from the market and plant that.

"After all," they said, "how can anyone tell one seed of corn from another?" But his parents who had always taught him the value of integrity reminded him that if the king wanted them to plant any corn, he would have asked them to go for their own seed. "If you take anything different from what the king gave you, that would be dishonesty. Maybe we are not destined for the throne. If so, let it be, but don't be found to have deceived the king," they told him.

The d-day came and the boys returned to the palace each of them proudly exhibiting a very fine corn seedling. It was obvious that the other nine boys had had great success with their seeds. The king began making his way down the line of eager boys and asked each of them, "Is this what came out of the seed I gave you?" And each boy responded, "Yes, your majesty." And the king would nod and move down the line.

The king finally got to the last boy in the line-up. The boy was shaking with fear. He knew that the king was going to have him thrown into prison for wasting his seed. "What did you do with the seed I gave you?" the king asked. "I planted it and cared for it diligently, your majesty, but alas it failed to sprout." The boy said tearfully as the crowd booed him.

But the king raised his hands and signalled for silence. Then he said, "My people, behold your next king." The people were confused. "Why that one?" many asked. "How can he be the right choice?"

The king took his place on his throne with the boy by his side and said, "I gave these boys boiled seeds. This test was not for cultivating corn. It was the test of character; a test of integrity. It was the ultimate test. If a king must have one quality, it must be that he should be above dishonesty. Only this boy passed the test. A boiled seed cannot sprout."

Similarly, our character and integrity are often called to task in various life situations. While our own tests may not necessarily lead to being crowned a king over a kingdom, every time we passed the test of character, we go several steps up in the estimation of God and are established in reign over our destiny.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

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