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I was walking through town and saw a young boy carrying a rusty, bent, old birdcage. In the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with fright. I asked the lad, “What do you have there, son?” “Just some old ugly birds,” he replied. “What are you going to do with them?” I asked. “Take 'em home and have fun with 'em,” he answered. “I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time.”

“But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?” The youngster answered, “Oh, I got some cats. They like birds. I'll feed 'em to them.” “How much do you want for those birds, son?” Startled, the boy replied, “Huh? Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old ugly field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!” Again, I asked him, “How much?” The boy sized me up like I was crazy and said, “Ten dollars!”

I reached into my pocket, took out a ten-dollar bill, and placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, he was gone. I picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, I opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars, I persuaded the birds out, setting them free. Then, I began to do a little reflecting.

One day, Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, gloating and boasting. “Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist, and got 'em all!”

“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked. Satan replied, “Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!”

“And what will you do when you are done with them?” Jesus asked. “Oh, I'll kill 'em,” Satan glared proudly. “How much do you want for them?” Jesus asked.” Satan retorted, “You don't want those people. They'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you, and kill you. You don't want those people!”

“How much?”Jesus asked again. Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, “All of your blood, your tears, and your life.” Jesus answered, “Done!” Then he paid the price and set them free (John 19:30).

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Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website.