I have a point for this story, so I am more focused on the
point than the story itself. I do not want to give it away, so I hope you
finish and then reflect on the questions or discussion I have post story. I hope
to accomplish my point so here goes. And remember this is just one story, there
are so many others in life.
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John kept working even into his golden years. Mary asked him
to retire many times. She married him to be with him and she had raised a
wonderful family which is what he asked of her. She was now ready to spend time
with him. She tried tempting him with them traveling and enjoying the fruits of
his many labors. She talked how wonderful the children are doing and about the
grandchildren.
She and John would still go to Church together, yet she
wondered how much he received from church other than his incessant desire to
achieve success. He worked hard. She felt that was enough. Well, she still gave
generously for him. He was very adamant about making sure the Church received.
Yet, this was the only charity he seemed to care about.
The Pastor was always so grateful for what John did for the
church. The Pastor always greeted John warmly and affectionately whenever he
was in town. And the Pastor even took up some of Mary’s encouragement for him
to retire. He told John he was successful and now it was time for him to come
to church and teach others to be successful. There were many young families in
the church still and the Pastor knew he needed them to give as much as John and
his generation. He needed John front and center, and now not just for his
contributions.
John strived to be the perfect embodiment of the successful
man. He knew no other life now. John did start to worry he was going to work
till he died or when he retired he would die. He felt work was his only
purpose. And it wasn’t the work. He never really loved his job. He did well
because he understood it and was dedicated to it. He didn’t love or desire it.
Mary spent the years with the children and grandchildren.
John let her spoil the grandkids and she did. It gave her so much pleasure to
see her family do well. She wished John would participate. He already missed so
much. She would call and put the grandkids on the phone to talk to him hoping
it would tug on his heart. Sometimes it did, and he would meet up with them
occasionally. John felt he had a heart and definitely wanted the grandkids to
see him. He wanted them to know what he did and what he did for them. He felt he
provided for his family and his efforts would benefit his family for years to
come.
Yet, the grandkids did not know him. After so many years he
was just another person that passed through their lives occasionally. Someone
to say I love you, but never understanding why. Their Grandmother was a
different story. She brought love and joy whenever she came. Her kids and the
grandkids showed much affection and happiness whenever she came. And she visited
all the children regularly. In her eyes, they were perfect.
Unfortunately, John was right. And it happened too soon for
Mary. Just as she had given up on him retiring John passed away. He died still
working. He was in his early seventies. Mary grieved heavily for him and for a
life she wanted with him. The whole family came to the funeral. No one was
interested in the Will. They wanted to say goodbye to the man in their life,
yet never really knew. They had always hoped he had loved them yet were unsure.
At this juncture even, Mary was unsure if John ever loved anything.
The Pastor was sad and ecstatic. He knew he would miss John.
John had helped him greatly with advice on building the church. John taught the
Pastor had to run a business which even the Pastor admitted it was in some
ways. Actually, more than he admitted to himself. He felt like he was leading a
flock of sheep, always teaching the good word. Yet, his sermons relied less on
theology, and more on inspiration. His inspiration with help from John and a
few other families like John’s. Mary may not have been the woman of the church
he and John thought she needed to be, but she was always present and by John’s
side. The kids were very active so to many members of the congregation, they
were a great family.
And he knew John’s Will gave much to the Church. They had
talked many times. Mary was going to be the executor and reaffirmed many times she
would follow John’s instructions. That wasn’t what excited him.
John’s funeral was huge. Very huge. The Church auditorium
which held 10,000 people was overflowing. He preached and he preached with
great enthusiasm. He told the congregation and the visitors John was in heaven.
He knew John was in heaven. John’s success showed he was a man of great faith
and led a very prayerful life. Mary listened and wondered about the Pastor
saying that. John never showed faith in God, only what he did. And John never
prayed, that she knew. He had told her many times that if she wanted him to
pray she should pray for what he wants. Mary had, but prayed more often for
many other blessings for many people, but John hadn’t prayed for anyone
including her as far as she knew.
The Pastor went on. He showed pictures of John and his
family as they grew to the congregation. Mary had shared much about their lives
and the Pastor exalted John to the congregation.
And John was there. John sensed he had died. He felt the
funeral. He didn’t see or hear it. He felt it as he was being pulled somewhere
else. He felt the pageantry of it all. He moved on. Soon he felt others somewhere.
He sensed the great joy of many. He also felt the confusion of a few. He sensed
he had the same confusion. Over time he kept drifting and more and more he sensed
only the confusion and emptiness of his surroundings.
Over time it felt like there were no others around him. No noise
that he didn’t hear but felt. No joy that existed when he first passed away. He
did not know where that went. As time went on he felt less and less. Eventually
he felt like he was drifting into a cave. It wasn’t damp or cold like he
thought a cave should feel. Instead it was just dark and the hard walls
surrounding him were the last things he remembered feeling. Then there was no
feeling, no senses, no others, just him in this cave that he couldn’t feel anymore,
but knew that no one would penetrate the walls, not even Mary which was the
last thing he remembered before he drifted into an eternal loneliness.
The End
I know not many of my readers are very religious because I
mainly talk about politics, sports, or other innocuous items. And I wonder if
it even matters to you. If not, so be it.
If you want some philosophical thought: I wonder about many
things and so when the headlines said Pope Francis said there is no hell, I
thought differently, but that is not why I wrote this story. I did not read the
story behind the headlines, so Pope Francis may have said there is no hell like
we describe. To me, hell is eternal life without joy or love. (Can you tell
from the story? lol) The real reason I wrote this is the misconception of so
much of Christendom about what it takes to get to heaven.
I am not preaching against being a successful person. I believe
people have a right to work hard and enjoy the fruits of their labors. I firmly
believe this.
Think about this, what if a man or woman makes hundreds of
millions of dollars through their own business. They never go to church of any
kind. Yet, they always pay their labor and executives more than a reasonable
wage. They make sure the company always improves its products, so the customer
gets a fair deal. In their personal life, they enjoy people, are generous
towards various secular charities or food pantries. They give of themselves in
every way. Would they not go to heaven even though they are wealthy and non-religious?
As long as a person, puts others before them, respects others, gives to the
poor or to the betterment of society, are they not living what Christ teaches.
So being rich or being successful does not have to keep you from heaven if you
so believe in heaven. And yes, I know the scripture that says it is easier for
a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a wealthy person to go to
heaven, but I feel it is not impossible, nor should it be. It boils down to how
you approach life. So, John didn’t have joy because he was rich, John didn’t
have joy because he never had it in him. He never gave to receive.
And on another note please put hate aside and work towards
what we can do as people instead of tearing down others. If for example, you
think you hate someone for whatever reason, define that reason and teach yourself
and that person why doing things together would be better for both of you. It is all about effort. And if you won’t make
the effort, why should they. Hate shows a lack of effort on living life on your
part.
Love and joy are gifts that too often we let lie on the
coffee table unwrapped.
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