Rocco
took Gitano to a small bistro in the city. They sat on the patio and enjoyed
the perfect autumn weather. Gitano told Rocco the story of his life – how his
parents had been poor drunks, how he and his brother Ricci had run away together and found
work stealing paintings for Gregory Hamilton, how Ricci had been murdered, and
how he had spiraled downwards after that, desperately seeking to kill the pain
in his heart and find even the smallest thing to bring him joy.
“Even after spending just a few
hours with Aurora, I knew the darkness was ending. It was like the first sun
rays of dawn were just beginning to reach over the dark horizon and the hope of
day was certain,” Gitano smiled. “I think it was the first time I truly saw the
sun in years.”
Rocco smiled back although he was
concerned for the young man’s heart. “I’m glad that the Lord used Aurora to
bring you back to life. He did indeed create us to live in community like that,
where we need each other. Aurora might be your angel, but, Gitano, she’s not
your god. She’s human, just like Ricci. And I hope to God that she never meets
a tragic end-”
“I’ll die before that happens,”
Gitano interrupted.
“But still, she won’t always be the
light breaking over the horizon. That is God’s place and His place alone. He is
the only unchangeable. He is the only sun that will never set. Aurora will.”
“Are you saying Aurora is going to
die?” Gitano asked, feeling threatened.
“We all die, Gitano. We’re mortal.
Even if Aurora lives to be one hundred years old, she will never be the sun.
She’s only something beautiful that we are blessed to see because the sun is
shining on her.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Aurora didn’t die for you, Jesus
did. Aurora doesn’t live for you, Jesus does. He is your only God,” Rocco
explained patiently. “Aurora is a good gift He has given you, but she is not
the source of life, only God is. She is a broken human being, just like you and
me. We have a tendency to worship created things instead of worshipping the
Creator.”
“You’re saying that God is better
than Aurora?” Gitano asked slowly.
“Yes,” Rocco answered simply. Gitano
sat back and shook his head slightly.
“I don’t know. Aurora has never hurt
me. God has.”
“How has God hurt you, fratello?”
“Killing my brother, for one thing.”
Rocco leaned in closer. “Gitano, I
am so sorry about your brother. That is truly horrible. Let me assure you,
though, that God does not kill. God gives us life abundantly. The devil is the
one who kills, steals, and destroys.”
“Diavolo?” Gitano sat up straight.
“You mean he’s real?”
“Oh, yes, he’s real.”
“I was always taught about him, but
I thought they were just children’s stories.”
“That’s certainly what he would want
you to think,” Rocco explained carefully. “The devil doesn’t want you to know
that he exists. He wants to sneak around your life and create havoc invisibly
so that you’ll blame other people and God for your misfortunes when really they
are all his evil doings.”
“You’re saying that,” Gitano stopped
jaggedly as his throat clogged with emotion, “That Ricci is dead because of the
devil.”
Seeing the young man’s distress,
which made him so much older than he was, Rocco grasped Gitano’s shoulder in
support and simply nodded.
“And my parents? All the fighting
and screaming? All the beatings? That was him, too?”
Rocco nodded, feeling his heart sag
in angst for the pain on Gitano’s face.
“Why?” he demanded angrily. “Why
does the devil hate me so much that he wants to destroy me?”
“The devil hates you so much because
God loves you so much. I know that may not sound true but, oh, my brother, it
is,” Rocco promised. “God loves you and has chosen you to be His son – His
heir! And the devil is a jealous creature. He can’t stand it that God loves
you. What is more, he is afraid of you, Gitano. He is afraid of the glorious
future the Lord has planned for you so he has done everything in his power to
try to derail you and keep you away from that glorious future. He does not want
you to fulfill your destiny because he knows that where a child of God walks,
there is life and there is love – two things the devil hates most.”
“If God loves me so much and has
such a glorious future for me, why didn’t He protect me?”
“You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
“Sure, but at what cost? All my
family is gone. My brother, my most precious kin, was murdered right in front
of me. God should have done a better job,” Gitano grumbled bitterly.
“I don’t know why God allowed all of
that to happen, Gitano, but I do promise you that God was in control of it and
He has a good purpose for it. We’re not always going to understand why God
operates the way He does but we must have faith that everything He does, He
does because He loves us.”
Gitano wiped the gritty teardrops
from his face and shook his head. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone
in my corner like that – doing things for my benefit.”
“God is definitely in your corner,”
Rocco assured him.
“Crazy to think it,” Gitano snorted
a laugh. “And what is it exactly He wants me to be doing in the ring?”
“Love Him.”
“How?”
“Love the people God’s loaned to
you. Not in a selfish way, though. You are already one hundred percent loved by
God Almighty. Love them because God loves you. Not because you need them to
love you back.”
“Who do I have around me?” Gitano
asked, opening his arms wide. “Like I said, all my family is gone and I’m not
the kind of person who has friends. The only person I have is Aurora.”
“There’s your answer then.”
“How? How on earth do I love her without being selfish?”
Rocco
shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know. But the Coach in your corner will
show you.” 