Deck Of Cards

After a long military campaign in Afganistan,

these group of soldiers walked for six days,

through the hot desert and steep mountains.

The following Sunday morning,

they all arrived in a small town,

with a small church.

They all entered the church to worship God,

and read their Bibles.

All of the soldiers sat in the front pew,

except for one, who sat in the back.

That one soldier pulled out a deck of cards,

and started to shuffle through them.

The sergeant had noticed,

and walked to the man,

and said, "What are you doing?

Put those cards away".

The sergeant then court marshaled the soldier.

When he was brought before the marshal,

the marshal asked the sergeant,

"Why is this young soldier here".

The sergeant replied,

"I caught him playing cards in church".

The judge looked at the young soldier and asked,

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself".

The soldier answered,

"I actually have plenty to say".

The marshal said,

"Good, because if you can't explain yourself,

then I will punish you harder than I,

have ever punished anyone before".

The soldier then when on to say,

"Thank you sir. You see your honor.

I have just came from a tiring fight,

and a long walk through the desert,

and I don't have a Bible or a prayer book,

but I hope to tell you about,

the best of my intentions".

The marshal sat up straight and listened.

The soldier continued saying,

"You see your honor,

when I look at the ace,

I know that there is but one God.

When I see the deuce,

I know that there are two parts of the Bible;

the old and the new testament.

When I see the tre,

I think of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The four reminds me of the four evangelists.

There were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The five reminds me of the five wise virgins and their lamps.

Five were saved, and five were foolish and shut out.

The six tells me of the six days,

It took for God to create the heavens and the earth.

The seven tells me,

that on the seventh day, God rested.

The eight shows of the eight righteous people,

that God saved when he destroyed the earth.

There was Noah and his wife,

their three sons and their wives.

The nine reminds me of the lepers cleansed by Jesus.

Nine out of the ten,

did not even come back and thank him.

When I look at the ten,

I see the ten commandments.

The jack or the nave is the devil.

The queen represents the virgin marry,

the mother of our Lord and savior.

As for the king...

I know that there is but one king of Heaven -

God Almighty".

The soldier looked at the sergeant,

and then to the marshal and humbly said,

"So you see your honor.

The deck of cards that I had,

served only as a temporary Bible.

I hope my words were enough,

to satisfy you".

The marshal then found him not guilty.