So, here’s the spoiler – and you’ll see that even for this one little quote – it’s huge.
At some point, you’ll figure out the person from whose eyes everything is seen is dead. He’s in what’s called the “gray city”. It’s never really light there, but it’s also never totally dark either. Everything that exists there is more of an image – none of it has any real substance. For instance, when it rains, the rain comes right through the roofs and walls of the houses – because they don’t really have any physical existence.
The character has a chance to go to the City of Light. While there, he observes someone else from the Gray City talking to one of the residents of the City of Light. While speaking of God and religion, the one from the City of Light says –
“‘We know nothing of religion here: we think only of Christ.”
The main character, in a discussion with another resident of the City of Light, while talking about what the Gray City really is, whether it’s Hell or not – gets told that for those who end up in Heaven, it will turn out to have been purgatory (or some such thing, if they aren’t Catholic) – and for those that end up in Hell, it will turn out to have been Hell all along. Further – the same holds true for earth – before they died. Some will find out, after they’ve been forgiven and learn to forgive – that earth was a little bit of Heaven all along. Others, will find out that earth had been Hell all along.
OK – so you probably think you’ve got it all straight now.
There’s only one way to have it right.
And that’s if you also figured out that the whole first part of the book was a dream.
What if you found out, before you died – before it was too late – that even the way we look at things here on earth would determine where we went after we left the earth? Some (many?) already have that figured out.
But, what about the part of “we think nothing of religion here: we think only of Christ”? Way too many people are so focused on the little details of our religions – especially the ones we think we’re good at – that we totally forget the real emphasis was supposed to have been on Jesus.
If we go all the way back to the beginning –
Ex 34:14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
and then from Jesus –
Mt 22:37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
You may think these aren’t exactly the same, but they are. Although the Old Testament doesn’t actually refer to The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the original Hebrew words – from the very beginning – have always referred to God in the plural. One God – three person, as we learn in the New Testament. Three persons, as references in the Old Testament tell us.
And finally, as Jesus says –
Jn 6:35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
And that is what should be our focus. Not the things that drive wedges between people – not on one religion’s minute details that cause us to focus on something other than Jesus.
With Jesus as the focus – and the Bible as our way of learning about Him – we are on the right path. As long as we believe in Jesus, and rely on Him for our salvation – we’re saved. God doesn’t care if we’re Catholic – Lutheran – some flavor of Methodist – or any other Christian denomination. Jesus is #1. Period. In Heaven, we won’t be any of those denominations. We’ll be children of God – brothers and sisters in and of Christ. That’s what matters.
Whatever our religion – we should have been told that. We should know that. But do we? Do we think, act, live like it? We’re still alive. We still have a chance to make our choices that determine whether this life will have been the beginnings of Hell, or the beginnings of Heaven.
What would you like your life to be?
“‘We know nothing of religion here: we think only of Christ.”