The Story of Sir Victor the Braveheart The Story of Sir Victor the Braveheart 2015 Church of Saint Paul 1740 Bunker Lake Boulevard NE, Ham Lake, MN 55304 (763) 757-1148 Written and Illustrated by Sharon Balk
To the victor I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God. Revelation 2:7b The victor shall not be harmed by the second death. Revelation 2:11b To the victor I shall give some of the hidden manna; I shall also give a white amulet upon which is inscribed a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it. Revelation 2:17b To the victor, who keeps to my ways until the end, I will give authority over the nations. Revelation 2:26 The victor will thus be dressed in white, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and of his angels. Revelation 3:5 The victor I will make into a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never leave it again. On him I will inscribe the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, as well as my new name. Revelation 3:12 I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne. Revelation 3:21 Heart of Christ, live in me, that I might serve You faithfully. Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 17
the village, but in his own heart. Many children were able to understand, even at a young age, how obedience brought freedom and blessings from God. Never in the history of their village, or any surrounding villages for that matter, have so many victories been won in children s hearts, or so many arrows been sharpened for the service of God and His kingdom, thanks to the wise teaching of Sir Victor Braveheart! Long, long ago in a village far away, on a quiet winter evening, there once was a wonderful baby boy born into a holy and dignified family named the Bravehearts. On this most blessed evening, the new child s mother and father looked into the face of the beautiful infant and prayed quietly to know what name they should give to the little miracle they held in their arms. Victor was the name that seemed to rise within the father s heart, and the mother quickly agreed that this was indeed a fine name. From then onward, the boy was known as Victor Braveheart. Victor grew into a lively, exuberant child who loved to run and play. He was the sort of popular lad that was always laughing, joking, and telling tales to everyone around him. His parents worked very hard at training him in leading a virtuous life. His studies included learning to be honest, generous, unselfish, and righteous in every way. His teachers included the priests and nuns in the village who took only the best pupils and worked hard at forming them into g o o d, Christian children. Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 16 Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 1
For as long as he could remember, Victor wanted nothing else except to be a knight in the service of God and king. Knights were noble gentlemen known for their chivalry, gentleness, and loyalty to the king and the kingdom. They were truly the best of the best in character, in physical and mental ability, in combat, and in every way. But, most importantly, they were honest and brave, holy and true. Each afternoon when their studies were completed for the day, Victor and his friends would run to find the best viewing spot on the side of a hill in order to watch the knights and their squires at work sharpening their skills at riding and jousting. They watched as the young 14-year-old squires, carefully chosen from among the pages (the younger boys in training to be the squires) aided their knights in dressing into their suits of armor and then out again. The squires eagerly waited to be singled out for duty and then hurried to perform their tasks to the very best of their ability. It was a great honor to serve their masters in any way they were ordered to do so. Soon, Victor knew, it would be his turn to become a page. He had just turned 9 years old and was at just Because of your courage and bravery, we have been saved from unthinkable destruction. But, most of all, your obedience in following orders perfectly has kept our whole village free and safe. We hereby declare that Victor Braveheart, being most brave and obedient, has earned the title of squire. Hurrah for Victor! everyone shouted. Victor s heart was now bursting with love for Jesus. He knew that the real victory had been won in his heart. He had become the victor over his own failings, and now Jesus truly reigned as Lord of the castle of his heart. Because his heart had been trained by obedience, God had been able to take him out, like an arrow from a quiver, aim at a target, release it knowing that it would fly straight and true, and strike the target at exactly the right place and time. Obedience had brought freedom to the village and freedom to Victor. He was now free to be who God had always planned for him to be. As he returned home that evening, Victor s mother and father hugged him with tremendous pride in their hearts. His mother, remembering that evening so long ago when Victor had been named, whispered as she kissed him good night, You are rightly named, Victor the Victorious! Years later, as Sir Victor the Braveheart trained the pages and squires in his service (for he became the most noble knight of all), he would tell the tale of his childhood, how he had won a great battle not just for Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 2 Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 15
it with all his might. The rope picked him up off his feet and swung him violently back and forth as the bells began to resound dong, dong, dong, dong, dong The villagers were surprised to hear the bells ringing at such an odd hour and immediately realized that something was wrong. Running toward the church, they looked up to see Victor hanging from the bell rope yelling, The enemy is tunneling under the wall in the back! Hurry, we re all in terrible danger! In the meantime, the enemy, hearing the commotion, became alarmed. They fled back under the wall and set off running, as quickly as possible, in retreat. The knights and other men chased after them until they were long gone, never to bother this village again. Shouts of joy sprang up as the men returned from this triumphant chase with news of victory. Victor, standing in the back of the crowd, was silently thanking God for saving them all and was startled to hear his name being called. Victor Braveheart, come forward. It was Sir Thurston s voice. The crowd parted as Victor moved his way to the front, and everyone stared at him in silence as he stepped onto the platform next to the knights. the right age for his parents to send him to another family to serve them in this way, as was the custom. He could hardly wait! This was the first step in the long journey to knighthood. I ll be the best page ever, he thought to himself. Please, Lord Jesus, help me to be the best page there ever was, he prayed. When the time finally arrived, he and each of his closest friends were sent to other families to begin their lessons to become pages. They agreed to meet to train together several times a week, after their duties were complete, in order to gain knightly skills. Their first horse was a wooden one on rollers. Three to four boys pulled this horse while each boy, in turn, rode on it, jousting with a broomstick in place of a real lance. As the broom handle struck a wooden target, the target would swing around and a bag of dirt would knock the boy off the horse if he wasn t fast or careful enough. Great fun was had by all, at least most of the time. The boys pulled together and rooted for one another, each challenged by the other s determination, yet happy for one another s successes. Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 14 Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 3
Still, a day came when Victor began to have feelings other than friendly comraderie for his old friends. He wanted to be the best and, slowly but surely, he began to look for ways to outdo them without it appearing obvious. In fact, he became downright sneaky about many things. At times, he would sabotage the horse, while no one was looking, in order to slow his friends down. At other times, he would purposely trip or hurt someone while making it look accidental. Victor even spread false rumors about the other pages in order to make himself look better than they did. Victor considered himself very clever, and increasingly he felt superior to the other boys. Little did he know that his master, Sir Thurston, a retired knight and respected leader in the town, had begun to notice a change in Victor s character. Sir Thurston had trained several boys in the fine art of knighthood and was very keen at knowing what was required physically, mentally, and most importantly, spiritually of the would-be knights, and he was beginning to have his doubts about his student s honor. It was true that Victor was the best at the various skills. In fact, Sir Thurston couldn t refute that he Victor was as tired and bored as the rest, yet he remembered his vow to Jesus and refused to be sidetracked from his duty. Hour after hour, he kept his post, watching and waiting for whatever would come. Day turned into night, and he became very sleepy, but still he refused to sleep. Remembering that his parents always advised him to turn to Jesus when he was in trouble, he prayed, Lord Jesus, I need an extra special grace in order to stay awake and obey you. Please help me! Suddenly, he heard some muffled sounds. Victor wondered what the noise was and listened closely to what he thought sounded like whispering coming from the other side of the wall. No, it sounded more like it was coming from under the ground where he was standing. chop thud whisper thud chop chop There were men digging their way up from under the ground! Victor realized that the enemy was tunneling under the wall in a surprise attack. Victor s heart pounded so hard he thought it might burst right out of his chest. He knew he had to keep his cool, and so he began to think and pray, What should I do, Jesus? Oh Jesus, what should I do? The answer came to him! Victor saw that the church was only a short distance away. All his physical training paid off as he ran like the wind into the church and up to the bell tower. As forcefully as he could, he grabbed the thick, heavy rope and yanked Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 4 Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 13
Many times they would come back with tales of great adventure, amazing rescues of damsels in distress, or great conquests that served to keep their world safe. One day, however, the town was all a-buzz with some rather unsettling news. Two knights who had ridden off on a mission for the king had captured some spies from an army who spoke of an impending attack on their very village! The attack was to come within the following two days. The king and his knights held an emergency meeting. They decided to alert all of the people both within and outside the stone walls of the village about the attack, and a decree was issued for all to come quickly into the protection of the walls. Shortly after, the gates were closed tightly and barred, and men were stationed all around it. As there weren t enough knights to watch the entire wall, Sir Thurston ordered the younger boys to keep watch at the back walls of the village and to report anything unusual. Victor and the other boys eagerly obeyed and ran to the back walls, climbed onto the top of them, and began to peer into the horizon. For the rest of the day and late into the afternoon, the boys kept vigil. Some of them, however, wondered what was happening at the front gate, and some even began to grumble about not being part of the action at the front of the village. One by one, they began to make excuses that they had to leave for just a few minutes. Some went to peek at the front gate, others went home for a nap or a quick snack and never returned. was the finest athlete of the group. Victor could outride, out-run, out-jump, and out-wrestle every one of the other boys. What bothered Sir Thurston was the lack of obedience he saw in Victor. Yes, he obeyed after a couple of requests and did what he was told most of the time, but there was a certain attitude of superiority in his manner. The other boys, he noted, weren t this way. They went out of their way to please their masters and moved quickly and efficiently the first time that they were asked. Victor, on the other hand, would do as little of the job as he could get by with and then make excuses as to why he hadn t done better. Victor had, on occasion, sneered at Sir Thurston when he thought his master wasn t looking. Because Sir Thurston was a kind and merciful master (as all knights were), he had corrected Victor a couple of times by reminding him that all knights must be wholeheartedly obedient to their masters, not just in action, but from their hearts as well. Instead of being ashamed of his behavior, Victor shrugged off the suggestions, having decided that Sir Thurston was just old fashioned in his thinking. Sir Thurston, on the other hand, silently decided that Victor wasn t ready to be chosen to become a squire. In fact, Sir Thurston wasn t sure he would ever be ready. After what seemed an impossibly long time, the day finally arrived when this group of boys had reached the age for consideration to be chosen as squires. A notice was posted with the names of the newly Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 12 Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 5
selected squires written on it. The boys crowded around the pole, stretching to see if their names were included. Shouts of jubilation were heard as well as groans and sighs as the young men and their families discovered the fate of their hard work. Many had tried, but few had been chosen. Victor stood off to one side with his family on that day. Victor, said his mother and father, why aren t you over by the pole looking for your name? they asked, curious that he hadn t run over to be with the others. Not to worry! was his reply. Why wouldn t my name be on it? Victor s parents looked at one another somewhat surprised. What had happened to their humble, obedient son? They had to admit that he had become quite arrogant and careless in obeying them lately. In his pride, he had refused to listen to them much of the time unless they demanded it. Even so, Victor s pride at this moment was unsettling. Eventually, after most of the boys had left the pole, Victor moved casually towards it. With great confidence, he ran his finger down the names expecting to stop at any moment when he came to his own name. His finger reached the bottom without finding it. This isn t possible, he thought. I must have missed it. His face reddened and with his skin getting hot, he ran his finger down the list again. To his great humiliation, for everyone had Victor prayed it over and over with great love in his heart. Joy surged through him as he rediscovered the truth that Christ lived within him. His only desire now was to serve Jesus wholeheartedly, to let Him be the Lord over his whole life, every moment of the day. Some time went by, and Victor was faithful to letting Jesus be the Lord of each part of his life. He trained himself, with God s grace, to obey every order that his parents gave, the first time it was given. His mother and father were delighted with the change they saw in their son and told him so. They felt very sorry that his dream of becoming a squire was gone, but watched as Victor returned to the cheerful, obedient boy he used to be. They knew God was at work in their son. Many of Victor s old friends had become squires in the meantime and were working hard at being the best they could be. Many days they would enter the chapel to find Victor kneeling in front of the tabernacle, making them wonder, even out loud at times, at this unusual sight. Victor didn t care. The only thing that concerned him now was to please and obey Jesus, his Lord. Things continued on as usual for some time with knights and their scribes coming in and out of the village on holy missions, defending their kingdom. Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 6 Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 11
The next morning, Victor ran to where he knew he needed to be, in front of the tabernacle where Jesus was waiting for him. O Lord Jesus, please give me another chance, he prayed. I promise to obey You from now on, but please help me. I cannot do it by myself. now stopped what they were doing and were staring at him, he discovered what was just a moment before unimaginable. He had not been chosen to be a squire! Turning away from the gawking crowd, he set out with great fury toward Sir Thurston s house to demand an explanation. As he reached the front door, he banged the heavy doorknocker as hard as he could, over and over again, until he heard footsteps on the other side. I demand to see Sir Thurston! he exclaimed as a servant opened the door. I m in here, Victor, please do come in, replied Thurston from the great dining hall in the knight s home. As Victor stood up to leave the chapel, he noticed a mirror on the wall. Checking to see if his eyes appeared red and puffy from crying, he peered intently into it. He was startled to see his face become Christ s face for a moment and to see Jesus Sacred Heart burning on his chest. The face disappeared then as Victor s face reappeared. This prayer rose up from within Victor: Heart of Christ, live in me, that I might serve You faithfully. Why would you do this to me? You, of all people, know how hard I ve tried to be a good page. All I ve ever wanted is to be a knight, and now YOU are ruining it for me! At this, Victor s lip began to tremble and tears that had welled up in his eyes fell onto his cheeks. Anger and hurt poured out through the sobbing that followed. Sir Thurston waited until Victor calmed down somewhat before speaking. His words were well chosen and full of compassion. He had expected this visit from Victor and had prayed a long time about what God would have him say in response to Victor s fury. Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 10 Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 7
Victor, he began, I had great hope for you. You came into my care with great joy and enthusiasm. But much more than that, you came to me with a pure heart, honest and obedient. But while your body became strong, your soul became weak. You refused to honor and obey me unless I asked you repeatedly and even then you resented my direction. This cannot be tolerated in the heart of a knight. You would not be trustworthy. A knight must be loyal and obedient at all times in order to be of any use to God and the king. You, Victor, I am sad to say, are not. Defeated, Victor returned to his home. Turning to his parents he yelled, I suppose you knew this all along! It s all Thurston s fault! No, Victor, we didn t know this would happen, but we can see with our own eyes that Sir Thurston had no choice, was his father s reply. You ve changed! You no longer see a need to listen to what we have to say or to obey us at all. Sir Thurston has tried very hard to train you to be an honorable boy, but you don t care to listen to him either. Victor was stunned that his parents were on Sir Thurston s side. You need to ask for God s forgiveness for being prideful and disobedient. You will never be happy unless you learn to obey God by obeying us, his father continued, Jesus can help you if you ask him. Victor shot his parents an angry look, walked the many steps to his bedroom dragging his heavy body up each one and, without undressing, flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes. The room was still, dark, and silent. The sorrow and anger in his heart hurt so much that he began to cry again. Jesus, he prayed, I ve failed miserably. I ve failed you and my parents and Sir Thurston. Lord, what shall I do? I ve no one else to turn to. Please help me. With that, he fell into a deep sleep. As he slept, Victor had a dream, one that seemed so very real. He was talking with his mother and father in the kitchen. They were hurt by something Victor had said to them, and their faces showed it. As they spoke to him, their faces changed into the holy and glorious face of Jesus and then back into his parents hurt faces again. Next, Victor was with Sir Thurston who was advising him about riding horses and as he was speaking, his face, too, changed into the face of Jesus, shining and holy, and then back again into Sir Thurston s face. The dream ended, and Victor awoke with an unusual feeling of peace within his heart. For the first time in countless days, Victor could feel the presence of God s grace within his heart and the message was clear God had been speaking through his parents and through Sir Thurston all along, and Victor had refused to obey! The awful truth and pain this brought was slowly replaced with God s merciful love as Victor repented. Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 8 Authority and Obedience The Story of Sir Victor, the Braveheart, Page 9