He felt confident sitting in the courtroom that beautiful fall day. It had been a beautiful drive into the city. He had left early to miss the morning commuters and had been able to watch the sun coming up over the horizon illuminating the hills that were alive with the bright colors of the season. When he had arrived at the parking garage he took one last look at his stack of manila folders to make sure all the evidence was in order for the presentation and placed it carefully into his backpack for the short walk to the courtroom. He was ready, how could he possibly not find victory to be his friend this day!

The judge had entered and the docket for the day was introduced. He was the fifth case to be evaluated and he settled in for the wait. As he looked around at the other defendants for the day, he was struck by a quiet man that was seated in the row ahead of him. He was dressed in rough clothes and obviously was very uncomfortable with the surroundings. When the order had been announced he had noted that this man was the sixth case and would be following him before the judge. As he looked for his documentation, he noticed a small, tattered manila folder that appeared to be almost empty. He felt sorry for the man as he thought about his backpack loaded with his evidence and wondered if the judge would be tempted to compare his mountain of papers with the few wrinkled pieced in the tattered folder and not really hear this man’s case. But that was not his worry, he had come prepared and this was his day to shine.

He was lost in thoughts of his successful presentation and the honors he would receive when he heard the man announce, ‘Number 5, please step to the front.’ He quickly grabbed his full backpack and stepped to the front of the courtroom. He greeted everyone with a smile and laid out all his folders in the precise order he had practiced last evening. He was ready.

He began his presentation with a detailed listing of all his speaking engagements, awards for public speaking both from his schooling as well as from other organizations and letters of recommendation from other famous orators. He knew this was his strength and prided himself at being a great orator and was confident his skills would serve him well this day.

He then moved to a presentation of his educational background. He produced a copy of all his transcripts from school and other educational opportunities he had pursued. He was especially proud of his accomplishments in this arena as he had been the first at his school to graduate with a 4.0 for his bachelors, masters and doctoral work. He was a master of the languages and only used original language sources for study and speaking. He loved how people were so impressed with his skills in all these areas. He was confident his academic prowess would impress the judge since he had also endured a truly rigorous academic path.

And now that he had the built a solid case for his knowledge and ability to speak to the multitudes, he moved to the folder entitled faith. How could the judge not be impressed with the fact that he had come from a poor family and had been able to graduate with his doctorate without any debt? And the most amazing part was that he never actually asked anyone for financial assistance, he would simply go to his mailbox whenever there was a need with a confidence that there would be a check to cover the expense. He remembered his classmates would envy him as they would rush from class to work as he wandered over to the library to study.

And finally, the manila folder filled with honors, certificates of achievements, and memberships in prestigious organizations. The accolades of those who had watched him sacrifice all the possible positions of great honor and give it all away to serve in that remote village deep in the jungle. How could the judge not be moved as he saw the great sacrifice, he had made to teach those ignorant people? How he had almost died from the fever and how his health had been broken by the myriad of diseases he had faced.

At last he was done with his presentation and he knew everyone in the courtroom must be very impressed with both the facts presented and the eloquent way in which they were presented. He was confident that he would receive yet another honor, maybe even gold or silver or precious stones for such a grand effort. And then he stood silent, waiting for the praise of the judge.

There was murmuring in the courtroom about the masterful performance they had just witnessed as everyone waited for the ruling. What would the judge say in response to such a grand presentation?

But something very strange was happening. Those watching the proceedings saw tears on the face of the judge as he looked into the man’s eyes. And then as the judge was looking directly into the man’s eyes, he softly asked this simple question, ‘Do you love me?’ Everyone in the courtroom was stunned, but none as much as the man. What did this question mean? How did this question relate to the proceedings? And then to his amazement the eyes of the judge seemed to become as flames of fire and the stacks of papers were consumed in a moment of time.

In the silence that ensued the only sound to be heard was a clanging cymbal of a street merchant hawking his wares on the street below.