There I was face to
face with St Peter. He looked at his computer monitor and said. “Yep …
your credentials are OK. You’ve made it. Welcome to Heaven!”
I smiled silently.
“We like our
guests to be very comfortable here” continued the Saint, “and not feel
too disoriented from where they come from. So you’re allowed to go back
to earth for a short period and bring with you three items from down
there which will help make you more comfortable up here.
“I have to enter them on the computer … so, what will they be?”
I stopped and
thought for a few moments. Three items … what could I bring from earth
which will make my eternity here more pleasant … as if that were
possible.
I saw him smile at that last thought.
Perhaps I could bring my MP3 player with all my music collection … that would be nice.
He frowned a
little and was about to type when I added … “Oh … it’s got Latin hymns
on it too …” He said nothing and I saw him type in the reflection of his spectacles.
Perhaps I could also bring my DVD collection of all those movies I never had time to see …
He interrupted
my thoughts by saying, “Whilst you’re thinking about this can I also
tell you that you can bring three people from down there to share Heaven
with you. Who will they be?”
“Three people?” I thought, “but I know more than three people whom I’d love to see in Heaven for eternity.
“My wife … my
children, my extended family, my friends, and all my Blogging friends
whom I’ve ‘met’ through the Internet. There’s many more than just three
people I’d like here with me.
“But … but …
their lives are so inter-dependent. If I bring my wife here, who will
look after the children left behind? And is it right and fair to bring
young children here before they’ve had a chance to live life? How about
my extended family … I can’t bring one and leave the others behind?
“This is so unfair!”
“Sit down,”
said the Saint sternly, “you think it is unfair because you see things
through human perspective. You analyze and measure things your way;
often in a possessive manner.
“You say things like my wife, my children, my parents and my friends … as if these people belong to you.
“No one and nothing belongs to anybody and everything belongs to God.
“God gave life and only He decides when it ends and whether people come here or … the other place.
“You humans
often complain when a young life is taken or when someone leaves
dependents behind with seemingly no one to care for them.
“You forget
that God is there to care for them, and He leaves plenty of
opportunities for those people left behind to take on the task He has
set them.
“Whilst
everyone has his allotted time on earth, whilst there, their main job is
to do His will so that when their turn comes they end up here!
“You understand?”
I nodded meekly.
“Now tell me,” he continued with a smile, “which Latin hymns do you have in your collection?”
“Not everyone who calls me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do what my Father in Heaven wants them to do.” Matthew 7:21.
Thank you Colleen. That's exactly the sentiment I tried to depict in this post. We mourn someone's death because we see life from our perspective; not God's.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Amen, Victor. I am looking forward to seeing all my dead relatives and friends in heaven where all of us will be able to sing beautifully and we all will have, after the Last Judgment, healthy bodies that will never corrupt.
ReplyDeleteI agree Barbara. God bless you.
Delete3PM...funny. :o)
ReplyDeleteWell spotted Hand-Maid. God bless you.
DeleteVictor - I've tried to capture this sentiment a few times (poorly). I should have just waited for you to write it and link to it. Our perspective is so "human". Why do we mourn when someone holy dies? Shouldn't we celebrate because they are going to be happier than they ever were? Of course. But we are mourning for ourselves. Which, when you think of it, is pretty selfish! (Easier said ... er... written, than done, I know.)
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you.
P.S. Please bring your computer with you (as one of your three items) so you can keep blogging from up there. Thanks.
I agree Michael. We see death from a human perspective. At my father's funeral the priest wore white vestments and explained to the congregation that it was a joyous day because dad was in Heaven with his family.
DeleteI'll sure bring my computer to Heaven.
God bless.
Love this!!! Our thoughts are not His thoughts as we are in endless ways reminded. Thank you for this wonderful post...
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to see you visiting me Monk. I hope you return again. Thank you so much for your kind comments.
DeleteGod bless you.
You are so right-we DO tend to be possessive like this! Great story, Victor!
ReplyDeleteI love the details you place in your stories like the 3PM in his spectacles. So, Victor...St. Peter wears specs? Lol!
Yes Mary, considering his age, St Peter wears spectacles.
DeleteGod bless.
Oh right, I forgot he's a couple thousand years old - that would do it :) For that matter, I need them myself for reading!
ReplyDeleteIt must have been terrible in Christ's time before spectacles were invented; and all the other new inventions we take for granted.
DeleteGod bless.