There was once a great King who had a beloved Son.
The King delighted in the Son, and the Son delighted in the King.
Whenever the people praised the King and wanted to also praise him, the Son would say:
“Do not look at me—everything I have is from my Father.”
And whenever the people praised the Son, the King would say:
“Look at him, for in him you see my very heart.”
So it was that neither held anything back,
but each gave all honor to the other.
Now the people of the kingdom watched this closely,
but they did not understand.
One group said:
“The King alone must be honored.
See how even the Son refuses glory for himself!”
Another group said:
“The Son must be honored like king.
See how the King lifts him above every name!”
And soon they began to argue.
At first, they only spoke against one another.
Then they refused to stand together.
Then they would not eat at the same table.
And in time, they divided the kingdom in two.
Each side believed it was protecting the truth.
Each side believed it was defending what was sacred.
Yet neither noticed what had been lost.
One day, a traveler came through both lands.
He listened to the first and said,
“You are right—the King is beyond all and above all.”
He listened to the second and said,
“You are right—the Son reveals what none other can.”
But when he spoke to them together, he said:
“You have each seen only one hand of a single embrace.
The King and the Son are not rivals in honor,
but companions in giving it.
What you defend in separation
was never divided in them.”
But the people could not agree.
For each feared that if they yielded even a little,
they would betray the one they loved.
And so they remained divided—
not because the King and the Son were opposed,
but because they loved them in fragments.
And the traveler went on his way, saying:
“Where love is shared perfectly,
it appears as rivalry to those who cannot yet see love without measure.”