Let it Stupefy Your Mind.

I dreamt a peculiar dream a few nights ago; it began downtown in an unknown city. The season was rash and cold, somewhere between fall and winter; nothing about the setting beckoned me to stay, until I saw the child. A young boy, not older than ten years of age, sat upon the curb. He was homeless. Everything about his situation was grey and lifeless; nobody cared and he knew it. The sun did not shine there, only cloudy skies blanketed the streets. As I studied the boy, a supernatural intuition exposed me to his past: he was homeless, he wouldn’t accept help, many had tried to lead him from his platform to safety, but he would not yield. Nothing would get this child to budge; no offer was sweet enough to replace the familiarity of the street.

Our moment of mutual observation felt as the calm before the storm. The only humans alive were he and I. A sudden swift wind sent brittle leaves and city filth flying past the curb the boy was now standing on. I was sent to speak to this boy. He was homeless, yet the curb was his home, and he was guarding it quite intently. I was sent to speak nine words to this boy; I was sent to offer him two choices. As I approached him, the child’s eyes remained constant, not intimidated by the stranger invading his home sweet home. “You have a choice.” I told him, “The curb, or the Word.” His eyes expressed interest, yet he quickly turned his gaze to the ground as though to assess the situation. It was as though my request were a word game. He had a simple, yet life altering choice: to choose the curb, home, the only thing he knew, his public security blanket; or the Word, a mystery with unexplainable attractiveness. What was the word?

The boy lifted his head, “The Word.”

The situation felt like a battle, and I had shared in the victory. The boy had chosen the Word; he had abandoned all he ever knew, all he held dear, all that he built his life upon, all that he claimed as truth. He gave it up for the mysterious word. When I awoke, I realized its significance, I was not offering the boy a mind game, I was offering him the Word.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. –John 1:14
In Luke chapter 16, Jesus reveals an amazing earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The story is about the rich man and Lazarus. I wish that you would read it for yourself before you continue in this note. As the story goes, when the rich man enters hell he’s introduced to a rather alarming and disturbing reality: this hell isn’t what he was expecting. Afterlife isn’t as he, nor any, had believed, this wasn’t what he was prepared for. The rich man begs for a messenger to warn his family of the eternal agony he had entered; the one they could avoid.

It made me ponder the situation from the other side. Forbid that when I enter heaven, I react as the rich man acted: shocked in his false perceptions of afterlife. “THIS is heaven? Everyone on earth, even the Christians, they’ve got it all wrong! Someone’s got to tell them! This is no bedtime story! Where are the wimpy harps, dull choir robes and fluffy clouds? Where’s cupid? This isn’t what I was preparing myself for.”

…did I prepare at all?

“This can’t be real. They have no idea! They’re missing it! Those people on earth…this isn’t what they call heaven. Please Jesus, let me go back! They’re missing the whole point of their lives. We thought we knew it… They’re so sure, but they’re wrong! Please Jesus let me go back; let me warn them of the worthless direction of their apathetic spiritual lives!”

Perhaps God will respond, “But, I gave you my Word.”

I’ll passionately reason, “But that’s not good enough for them, they haven’t seen the truth! Jesus, give me five minutes! If a dead woman tells them all she’s seen in this inexplicable bliss, then they will believe!”

“If they haven’t headed history and prophecy that’s surpassed all odds of survival for thousands of years, not even a resurrected woman will convince them. No.” he’ll tell me, “You can’t go back.”

“Please, Jesus,” I’d beg, “send a prophet or a super religious sign so they’ll get it!

In this moment Jesus would rest his palm on my shoulder. “Jaime, they have the prophets, they have the Word. I showed John exactly what you’re seeing now and more. He wrote it all down, you have the record. I showed Isaiah my presence, I showed Abraham my glory. I gave you my Word. You blindly trusted the pastor, the Sunday school teacher, the friends, instead of in my Words. I wrote about heaven; I wrote about my glory. I created this place, Jaime, and I also wrote that book. The truth was before you; it lies before them. They have all they need…”

What if we were to miss it: the point of our lives? What do you believe about heaven? How much of it is true? I have a feeling that a large percentage of Christians view heaven as a perfect world absent of tears, hurt, suffering, strife or disease, a place where they will feel no pain. While this feature of heaven is jaw dropping and unexplainable, let us not miss the main point of heaven: God. Isn’t it interesting how we can wholeheartedly claim that this fleeting life isn’t about us at all-we live for our Creator. Yet, heaven, afterlife, eternity, seems to revolve around us and our perfect pleasure. When will we wake up and smell the living water; has it ever been about us? Will it ever be about us? Yes, pain will be ever absent, darkness will be a thing of the past, sin will be obliterated, we will no longer be flawed by earthly imperfections, yes, rejoice in this truth! But do not forget about the bigger picture. God. God! Jesus, Father, Spirit, will be ever present for the rest of eternity! The bigger picture doesn’t involve petty fluffy clouds and uncomfortable one-size fits all choir robes. Seek the truth.

Listen to the Word. Trash the traditional misconceptions we hold of the afterlife. Seek the truth and do not rest until you’ve discovered what you’ve been looking for all along. What half-truths mask your vision as you gaze into the afterlife? What if we miss the point of our lives? The only way to see what misconceptions have been blinding our eyes and swaying our steps for too many years is to contact the source. The rich man in the parable did not know the truth; if he knew the truth, he wouldn’t have lived as he lived. If we knew the truth, perhaps we wouldn’t live as we live. Afterlife, not what it means to you; but afterlife, how will its reality change you.

Due to a selfless donor, I am blessed to have in my possession three books entitled “The Slumber of Christianity” by Ted Dekker. I am seeking three sold out individuals passionately in search of the Truth, particularly concerning life and afterlife. Read this book, which happens to be my favorite, along with me and several others. Be stirred by the legitimacy of apathy Dekker exposes, and prepare yourself to embrace a mind-blowing reality. The only catch? Once you’ve finished, you must pass it on and tell the new owner to do the same; may this book never rest. (ie. if this book will merely collect dust in your possession… please don’t.)

Heaven, heaven, heaven. Let it stupefy your mind.
-Jaime S.

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