The Broken Promise

Two children begin collecting what they love best and --Anand collects marbles, his sister Asha collects candy. Soon Anand is not content with his collection, and he convinces his sister to trade. Struggling with wanting both marbles and candy, Anand deceives Asha and hides his best marbles before the trade. But having deceived his sister, Anand wonders if Asha has also deceived him. In this multifaceted story, Ravi Zacharias deftly weaves together several themes to create an intriguing modern tale about trusting God and loving Him above all else.

Chapter One

There was a man who collected artwork from around the world--beautiful paintings, lovely vases, carved boxes, and other small treasures.

    This man and his wife had two children, Anand and Asha. Their names had been specially chosen. Anand means "to be happy," and Asha means "hope."

    One day Anand saw his father locking a cabinet full of treasures, and he asked to see inside.

    "Of course you may see inside," said his father. "But first you might want to call Asha. She likes to look at the collection too."

When Asha joined them, their dad told a story about each piece of artwork and where it had come from. Some of the paintings and silver pieces had been in the family since their grandfather's time; others had been collected by their father.

    "Dad, could we correct something valuable like these paintings and vases?" Anand asked.

    "Yes, Son, it is good to be a collector of nice things," his father replied. "But a collection does not have to cost a lot of money, you know. It can just be something that helps you keep some happy memories."

Anand and Asha began to think about what they wanted to collect. The next day, as Asha watched Anand and his friends playing marbles, she thought she might like to collect marbles and play with her friends. The boys dug a small hole in the ground and showed Asha how the game is played.

(Continues...)

Copyright © 2000 Ravi Zacharias for text and Lad Odell for illustrations. All rights reserved.