Once upon a time, there was a rich merchant who had 4 wives. He loved his fourth wife the most, because she was the most beautiful one amongst his other wives, and gave her a lot of his riches and wealth.
This man was very proud of his third wife and always tried to introduce her to all his friends, though he was always worried if his wife would run away with other guy.
He loved his second wife very much, because she was patient and understanding. Whenever he had problem, he always asked for her opinion; she was the one he could rely on. Through difficult times, the second wife always helped and was always by her husband’s side.
His first wife was a faithful partner. She always brought goodness for the family. She was the one who took care and organized her husband’s business. Unfortunately, the merchant did not love her that much. Although the first wife loved the merchant so much, he did not really care about her.
One day, the merchant was very sick and realized that he was going to die soon; so he called for all his wives. He asked his fourth wife, “You are the one I love the most, I gave you beautiful dresses and jewelries. Would you accompany me?” His wife was stuck shut, then she answered him, “Of course I wouldn’t!” then she left without another word. That answer hurt the merchant’s heart so much.
Then, he asked his third wife, “I too love you with all my heart and, this time, my life will be over. Would you go with me?” The wife answered, “Life is so beautiful here, I will marry again if you die.” The merchant was very struck with her saying.
Again, he asked his second wife, “I always turned to you every time I have problems and you always helped me. Now, I really need your help. If I die, would you stand beside me?” The wife quietly answered, “Please forgive me,” she said, “I cannot help you this time. I can only see to your grave. However, I’ll make a beautiful burial plot for you.” The answer was like a striking lightning.
The merchant felt so hopeless. Suddenly, he heard a voice, “I will stay with you. I’ll go wherever you go. I won’t leave you, I’ll be faithful to you.” The merchant looked to his side and saw his first wife there. She looked so thin, like a person in starvation. Feeling very sorry, the merchant whispered, “If only I could take care of you while I could, you won’t look like this my wife.”
In this life, we all have 4 wives. The fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time and money we spent to make it look beautiful and handsome, everything will be gone. It would quickly leave us when we passed away. There will not be any beauty left when we see Him face to face.
The third wife is our social status and wealth. When we passed away, everything that we have will be others’. It will leave and forget its owner.
Our second wife is our relatives and friends. No matter how close our relationship to them, they will not be with us forever. They will only accompany us to our grave.
The first wife is our soul and truth. Maybe we often ignore and forget about them for the sake of wealth and our personal pleasure. However, the truth is that, only our soul and our truth that will always be and be faithful to us wherever we go. If our soul clings to Jesus and we do good deeds in truth, it will lead us to eternal life.
