05/26/2024
May I share an "out of body" experience with you from my childhood. When I was 7 years old I laid back to rest one evening. Immediately My soul and Spirit came out of my body. I found myself on a mountain pathway. The dirt path was so well traveled that it was almost shining from the way it had been compacted by so many feet. To the right of me was the side of the mountain which soared above an ocean or sea. To the left was a rustic fence and beneath grew wildflowers. Behind the fence was a rolling hill, just high enough that one could not see over. Ahead of me were a few people who were also walking the path. They were slowing down and coming to a stop because at the end of the path stood a great Giant, and angelic being. I noticed that behind me other people were starting to arrive at the same location. About 30 ft beyond the Giant angel stood Jesus Christ in very rustic and primitive clothing. About another 30 ft beyond him was a simple gate and a gatehouse. You could see past the gate and through the gate house. From the other side was coming brilliant light. Guarding the gate was another giant angelic being. Jesus stood alone in the middle between the giant angels. The line was moving forward at a nice face and I heard people whispering and saying that the man in the middle, Jesus Christ, was asking everyone a single question. In front of me stood a tall thin man from India, he was a member of the Sikh religion and he had a turban on his head. I could tell he was a man who pursued wisdom. He was studying everyone and would gently rub his beard. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me what was going on. I told him that the man in the middle was asking everyone a single question. He asked me what the question was. I told him we could not hear because the question was whispered to each person. I heard the quiet buzz of people trying to determine what was being said. Back behind me I heard two men trying to figure out who the man was that was asking everyone the question. I heard one man say, this must be the Buddha. I heard another man say, no I am sure it is Muhammad. Others said, no this is the Christ. I knew for certain that it was Jesus. There was no question in my heart. I heard one man say, "It's only one question how hard can it be"? Then I heard another man say, "Yes, it is only one question but what happens if you get it wrong"? Suddenly I felt a thump on my chest and I looked forward. Since everyone was being asked only one question I had been bumped along and was now standing at the head of the line with the hand of the giant angel on my chest. I asked him, where are we? He said to me, you are at the end of the line. That seemed strange because I knew I was at the head of the line. But I had a sense that it meant that this was the end of all things for me. I watched as of the man of the Sikh religion was being asked the question. He was already standing in the Middle with Christ. The look that came across his face was so heartbreaking. He had seen so confident in the line that he would be okay since he pursued wisdom. But you could see how startled he was to realize that whatever he had pursued had been a foolish choice. A normal sized person came out wearing a white robe and took him by the hand and let him away to the left behind the rolling hill. We could not see what happened to him, only that he was sad, confused, and heartbroken. The angel then moved his hand from my chest to my back and began pushing me forward. He said, you are next. As I approached Jesus Christ it was like I was becoming transparent. I looked the same but I was walking into a bubble of absolute purity and honesty. Instinctively I knew that no man could lie in this presence. Jesus Christ was absolutely truth. I knew that it was impossible to deceive him and whatever he asked I felt compelled to only answer honestly. I knew that any deception would have the consequence of potentially costing my soul. To this day, I will never forget the feeling as his beard brushed across my shoulder and he cupped his left hand behind my ear and leaned in to ask me life's ultimate and eternal question. I still remember the feeling of his breath upon my cheek. He drew himself close and began to slowly whisper these words, "Did... you... learn... to... Love"? I was only a child so I began to stumble in my answer trying to be ever so cautious and honest. I remember saying, "I don't really know what love is... I know my mama loves me". Suddenly everything went black and I thought maybe I had failed to answer the question. I was still stumbling with words trying to answer the question when one of my two brothers who was in the same room said to me, "be quiet now I think you have had a bad dream". I did not realize that I had come back to my body. I knew I had not had a dream better rather a unique out of body experience. I lay there and began to think about the question. It has been many years since then and still I lay in my bed at night and meditate on that one solitary question. What if everything we do in life is measured by that question? What if the way I live and the thoughts I think and the deeds I do are used as evidence to determine whether or not I used my time on Earth to learn to love? I never want to be like the man who was only seeking to gain wisdom only to find out that he studied the wrong material for the test. If God is love, and he is, then only one thing really matters to Him. You see, love is not a force neither is it an emotion. Love is a person and we must know him. Not only must we learn to know him, but we must also learn to be him. In John 17 Jesus prayed that we would become one with him. Having had this experience I know that also means we must become one with the love of God. Ask yourself the question, have I become one with the love of God, do I know him, and does my life, actions, and choices reflect this knowledge. There will come a day in an environment where lying is impossible that we must face the one who invented the "I will die for you" kind of love. He will ask us in a single solitary moment of pure honesty a question that will reveal whether we know him and have become one with who he is in thought, actions, emotions, and deeds. Am I one with God, do I know the one who is love, and am I one with love. Ask yourself the final question, "Did I learn to love"? If you are not sure, it is not too late. You have not come to this moment by accident. Adjust your course and you can begin walking in the Way. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the father except through me". This is two lessons at once. The first lesson and the very last. Jesus said, "I am alpha and Omega the beginning and the end." Let this story be the starting point. I hope it has the same result in your life that it has had in mine. All things are for him and through him. It is for God's pleasure that we were all created. God is not seeking church members but sons and daughters. He is not so interested in religion but he is very interested in a relationship.
