Germany, Earth, 2156
Aric's ten-years-younger brother Lukas Schröder was a civil engineer serving the government as a bridge inspector. He was outspoken about his faith in God and often encouraged his co-workers to accept the Lord's gift of salvation. However, when Germany began its steady, unscrupulous rampage throughout Europe, the government would not put up with religious "proselytizing"—especially from its own employees. Nevertheless, Lukas continued to talk about salvation through Jesus Christ, not obeying the government's preferences. They accused Lukas of "intolerance" and imprisoned him.
Lukas was in prison for just over two years when he was dismissed in early 2159. When he asked the reason for his release, all he got were either vague replies or comments like, "If I were you I'd just be glad to be out!" A party for Lukas was waiting when he arrived home.
During his mother's turn to hug him (the first of several), she exclaimed, "I can't believe you got out. They've been imprisoning more people for evangelizing than ever before!"
"I guess it's kind of like the apostle Peter in Acts 12, don't you think so, Peter?" Lukas asked his older brother. This caused the all-ready-smiling Peter to grin even wider. "Yes, in a way it is. Remember that, kids?" he said to his two boys, "Peter was miraculously freed from prison, and no one could understand how."
It was a larger crowd of people at the homecoming party than Lukas would have expected. He guessed there were about twenty-five people, including children. In addition to his wife, Adalia, and two sons—the second was born just after he was imprisoned—there was his mother, all his sisters and Earth-dwelling brothers, and their spouses and children. Even some of the in-laws' families were present too, most notably the Wielands, Ruth Schröder's family.
Lukas soon found the reason for the large gathering. After much of the excitement settled down, Aric's message from two years before was brought up for serious consideration among the family. Frau Schröder admitted that when she had received her son's message two years ago, it seemed at first impossible, but she knew Aric's concern was well-founded, Lukas's recent imprisonment being one reason. She had contacted her other children and Ruth's family, and invited them all to pray about it.
The children went outside to play while the adults began to discuss the pros and cons of moving to Cassius. They talked about specifics and practicalities of moving, going on more information Aric had sent his mother. After that they shared what they felt the Lord was leading each of them to do and figured out who would be going.
Frau Schröder was going, along with her daughter Alise, who was not married. Tim, the youngest son of the Schröder family, in his late twenties, was ready to move with his wife and one-year old daughter. Ruth's father was in poor health at seventy-one, so he and his wife were not going. Consequently, their only other child, Christian, believed he should remain to help take care of his father.
Though Aric's other two siblings Peter and Sara were not moving, Sara's brother-in-law Carsten Erzberger was. He was good with machines of all sorts, and Sara was confident that Aric would like him and find him useful. Gizmo felt that, being single and able to move, he was nearly obligated to do so. "Especially with a last name like mine; I may be good luck to the mining company!" [Erzberger means "ore mountain."]
When it at last came to Lukas, he paused, choosing his words.
"While I was in prison, Mama came and informed me about Aric's message. I had little to do in there but think and pray, and that's just what I did regarding this news. For weeks I pondered the possibility of freedom from this decadent society, but, not knowing how long I would be in prison, I kept falling into despair. I daydreamed of scenarios in which I would come home and we all would move to Cassius, but then, like a slap in the face, I would bring myself back to reality: the three gray walls, the bars, the sounds of the other men. I said to myself, 'You'll never get out of here. Your wife and boys will go on and move and leave you behind here suffering.' Yet I — For months I looked at the everything from a selfish perspective. 'Look what I will miss,' 'I'm suffering here in this prison for no reason! The charges were absurd and untrue!' 'They call it "Intolerance." Hah! I have my rights! This is illegal!' "
Lukas' eyes began brimming with tears. "I'd hear other men obscenely insulting one another and beginning to brawl; the crudeness of my environment and injustice of my plight became the only thing on my mind." His lip began trembling. "I all but cursed my accusers over and over, until—" His voice broke and the tears spilled over. "Until one night I looked out my little window—" The words were hard for Lukas, but he forced them through anyway. "—and there was the full moon, shining its silver light over the courtyard, just as God had ordained it in the beginning. Even though all I saw out my window was the prison walls across the open space, I was struck with the beauty of it." Lukas took a deep breath and sighed heavily. He was reliving that night, oblivious of his audience. "It was as though God was saying, 'Lukas, remember me?' and also saying, 'I forgave your selfishness and all your sins before you were even born.' And—You see, I had also been condemning myself for my terrible thoughts toward my accusers, my focus on myself. Who would have imagined by my thoughts in that cell that I was imprisoned for telling the Good News?" The tears began again and someone handed him a box of tissues.
After blowing his nose, Lukas continued. "I spent the rest of the night weeping and confessing my sins to God. He gave me the peace of His presence that I had forsaken when I began brooding, and I decided that if I were unable to get out of prison," his eyes met his wife's, "it would be better for Adalia and my sons to move to freedom. I finally thought about what was good for them instead of what I wanted to do. The Lord also brought verse after verse of scripture to my mind and I meditated on them. He even gave me strength and courage to witness to my neighbors about Christ." Lukas finished simply, "Our God abounds in grace and mercy!" There were several affirming amen's and murmurs as Lukas briefly put his face in his hands and breathed a prayer of thanksgiving.
When he looked up, he announced, "And so, it is with joy in my heart and peace with my Father that I say I and my dear family shall be moving too."
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