I've been thinking alot about how I'm going to teach my children about the after life when they are old enough to start asking questions. I've been thinking about it because I do NOT want to leave this up to whatever church I happen to be going to at the time. I think I will use the following parable:
When you die you go to a road that stretches out in two directions. One goes to Heaven, the other goes to Hell. You are free to choose the path that goes to Hell but before you get there you will encounter the body of Jesus blocking the path. You will have to step over Jesus' body and jump into Hell. No one will force you to jump in, but you must step over the body of Jesus and jump in yourself.
If you choose the path that leads to Heaven, then all along the path you will encounter the times you hurt others and hurt yourself. Each encounter will have a lesson for you to learn. Once you have learned all the lessons of all the times in your life that you hurt others or hurt yourself you will be able to enter Heaven.
4 comments:
I think WHAT we believe about life and death influences what we experience upon passing so if someone believes in hell, and believes they are going to hell, I think they can experience that for a time being when they pass. If someone believes in heaven, and believes they are going to heaven, I believe they'll experience their version of that. Beyond that space, I think we experience love and a re-emerging into our full spirit.
I also believe there could be something to reincarnation - we all went through birth, but no one I know remembers it ;). I think the same is likely true of death. I think the beginnings and endings are all part of our path but that we don't necessarily recall it when we're here - but this is another topic.
Additionally, I think there is a stage of reflection when people pass on.
I think aspects of what you described on the pathway to heaven apply to life (while living). I think life is about becoming our full spirit, which is about growing and expanding our understanding and desires - and this happens in our reflection of our life experiences as we're living...some of my greatest teachers in my life so far would never guess I view them that way - but I believe the lessons that most people think are saved for heaven/hell happen all around us each day, if we choose to recognize them as such. In other words, someone can be taught that they'll reap the rewards (or pay) when they die OR they can see life as a big opportunity to experience that cause and effect in their current lives by being conscious with their thoughts and choices.
I think the true 'heaven and hell' happens within people each day, while living. When you choose something that goes against your spirit, you feel it - and the same is true when you choose something that is in line with your spirit, you sing inside (some of us literally-haha). I think God is always with us and the same is true when someone passes. I also believe someone chooses when this happens.
Got a good parable for the above belief system?? - LOL :O)
I like the analogy of chooseing the road to Hell and having to climb over the body of Christ. (Making Hell a deliberate choice rather than an inflicted punishment).
However, I'd like to ask whether we would specifically 'identify' the body as Christ's? Or would we see it as simply God? Or possibly God's body?
Would the Jew or the Muslim or the Buddhist still see Christ's body? Would they have that aha moment and realize that they've been wrong all their lives?
If God does indeed have many names, then this becomes little more than replacing Christianity within the center of all religions (again).
Like Havilah said, WHAT we believe about life and death influences what we experience upon passing. A Buddhist or atheist might not see anything since they don't believe in an afterlife. Remember, this is a parable directed at a particular audience, not a literal universal truth. The literal truth is that we have no way of knowing for sure what happens when we die.
I've got a potentially bigger question - what are you going to tell your kids about life? That's the question I ponder sometimes!! LOL So many ways to process it all, so many avenues to take for how you share it.
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