There’s a story of an old Baptist pastor from the 1800s, preparing his Sunday sermon on Saturday afternoon. After several hours of study, he got tired and went for a walk to stretch his legs. As he walked through town, he saw a boy carrying a birdcage in one hand and a stick in the other. Inside the cage were a dozen little field birds, and the boy was jabbing the birds through the bars with the stick. The birds were shrieking, feathers were flying, and the boy was laughing.

The pastor approached the boy. “Son,” he said, “why are you tormenting those birds?” The boy said, “Sir, I love to hear them shriek. I love to see their feathers fly. It is so much fun.” “What will you do when you are finished having your fun?” the pastor asked. The boy smiled broadly. “Oh sir, that’s the best part. I will bring them home, take them out of the cage one by one, pluck their feathers, and feed them to my cat.” The pastor’s heart was broken. “Son, let me have those birds,” he said. “No, these are my birds. I caught them myself. You can get your own birds. You can catch some in the field.” “But I want those birds.” “Why? They don’t even sing. They aren’t canaries, you know. They are just ordinary field birds.” “Please, son. I’ll buy them from you. How much do you want?”

The pastor took out his wallet and opened it up. Suddenly the boy saw a business opportunity. “How much money do you have, sir?” The pastor counted two dollars, which was a lot of money in those days. “What a coincidence,” the boy said. “They cost exactly two dollars, cage included.” The pastor knew the boy was ripping him off, but he took all the money out of his wallet and handed it to the boy. The next day the pastor told this story as he stood before his congregation. He said, “I took that cage out into the field. I opened the door and I backed away. One by one the birds hopped to the open door. One by one they spread their wings, and one by one they began to fly. And as they flew to freedom they began to sing the same song. And this was their song: ‘Redeemed, Redeemed, Redeemed.’”

(Daniel Kolenda. The Judgment Seat of Christ. A life-changing eternal perspective
(Lost Treasure Series Book 1) (Kindle Locations 490-511) Kindle Edition).