He was standing over the Lord with a knife to his head.

“You need to leave,” directed Satan. “Leave now or face my wrath.”

“And if I don’t?” asked the Lord.

“I’ll do the world a favor and kill you.”

Defiant, God stood upright with arms folded in front of His chest, and looked towards the horizon. A few seconds later, Satan reached out to provide evidence that his threat wasn’t a bluff. He pressed the sharpened blade against God’s throat hard enough for a sliver of crimson to surface. It caught God’s attention, who redirected His focus to the matter at hand. He looked Satan in the eyes and replied with a smile.

Slicing deeper, Satan advised, “At some point, you’re going to realize my will is greater than yours.”

God shook His head from side to side with disagreement. Upon doing so, the severity of the neck wound worsened. The knife widened the fleshy chasm, cutting closer to the jugular vein. Several crooked lines of blood dripped down God’s neck until it reached the collar of His concert t-shirt, which absorbed as much as it could. He made no effort to restrict the flow of blood. Refusing to leave, God remained firm in His stance, insistent to smile at anything offered by His nemesis.

Satan flashed a demonic grin and licked his lips with delight. This wasn’t the first time the two had squared off against one another but he hoped it was the last. Every time he believed God was dead, the Almighty found a way to resurrect Himself. If a cat had nine lives, Satan hoped God’s ability to return was also limited.

“The end is near,” Satan warned. “Your reign will soon be over.”

“Martyrdom elevates loyalty,” God replied with a smile.

Overpowered by bloodlust, Satan retracted his hand and stabbed God in the heart, knocking Him to the ground. God floundered as He struggled to return to His feet. He only found enough strength to kneel before Satan. He lifted His head a final time and smiled once more.

“Wouldn’t it have been better if you just left when I told you to?” Satan asked.

“And turn my back on you?”

(Source: Sentence taken from “The Stranger In The Lifeboat”)