Get a bride for the King

A parable on witnessing methods


Once upon a time, there was a great king. He was rich and lived in a beautiful castle. One day, he said to his servants, "I would like to get married. Go throughout the countryside and find me a wife."

The first servant went out and met a beautiful girl. "Would you like to get married?" he asked. "No," the girl replied. "I'm too young." The servant found another girl. "Would you like to get married?" "No," the girl replied. "I'm in love with someone else." The servant went to one girl after another, but no one was interested. They all had an excuse why they couldn't be bothered. Either they were in love with someone else, or were too busy, or didn't want all the duties that came with living in the castle, or some other excuse. "I give up," the servant said. "It's useless to try to obey the master's command."

The second servant went out and met the first girl. "Would you like to be rich?" he asked. "Oh yes," the girl replied. "Okay," the servant said. "Here, say these wedding vows, and you'll be married to a rich king who loves you." The girl repeated the vows, and the servant smiled, congratulated her, and left. He went on to the next girl, and the next, and repeated the same process. He met hundreds of girls and did this with each of them. Then, he went back to the king and said, "I have found hundreds of brides for you."

"Okay," the king said. "Where are they?"

"In the towns and countryside, going about their normal lives," the servant said.

"But do they love me? Do they want to be with me? Do they even know me?" the king asked.

"Yes, well, they know your name," the servant said. "And they'll be coming around later for the house and money you promised them."

The king turned around very sad at the thought that his servant mistook this for marriage.

The third servant went before the king and said, "I can't do this without you. Will you please come with me?" So the king and the servant went together into the town.

Soon the servant found a beautiful girl and struck up a conversation with her. "There's someone I'd like you to meet," he said, and introduced her to the king. The king, the servant, and the girl did many things together, and the king lavished his love and affection on the girl. Little by little, he won her heart, and she started to love him back. The day came where they went to church together and got married, pledging their mutual love and commitment to each other. They became one. And for the rest of their lives, they lived together in joyful harmony, rich and full of blessings.