I was having a tough time. The economy was bad, international tensions were high, and my boss was being unreasonable and demanding. I was miserable and afraid. I didn’t know what to do.
I tried drinking, having sex with girls I picked up in bars,
bought things for myself. But, when I sobered up, the world was still the same.
When the girls went home, I still felt alone. And the things I bought just
added to the bills I had to pay. Nothing seemed to work.
However, I noticed there were some people that didn’t seem
affected by all the turmoil. I’d see them in the coffee shop, at the grocery
store or shopping at the mall. They seemed to be happy and at peace in the
midst of all the tension and strife.
So, I started asking around to find out who these strange
people were. After a little while, I learned they were members of group known
as The Body.
“I have to talk to one of these people,” I thought.
After checking around I found one of my neighbors down the
street named, Bill, was a member of The Body. One day I was able to talk to Bill.
I asked him, “How is it that you are able to be happy and at peace in the midst
this horrible world we live in?”
“My joy comes from my Leader.” Bill said. “My Leader cares
about me. He and the Father, the Leader’s father, provide for my every need, give
me comfort when I’m troubled, peace when I’m anxious, and hope when I despair.”
I was intrigued. So, I said, “This is interesting. Tell me
more.”
“We all have an eternal life,” Bill answered. “This mortal
life is just the beginning. When our mortal life ends there are two places we can
go. One is a paradise called Heaven where the Leader and the Father live. The
other place is a dark and miserable place where there is no access to the Leader
or Father. We are given the choice of where we go, but that choice is made before
we leave this life.”
“Wow! Sounds like Heaven is the place to go. How do I go about
making the choice?”
“Those who choose to become part of The Body are bound for
heaven. Those that refuse to join The Body are bound for that place where the Leader
and his Father are not present.” He answered.
“What is the membership fee to join
The Body?” I asked Bill.
“You would have to pay for all the wrongs you have ever
committed, we call them sins. Once you have paid for your sins, the Father sees
you as pure and sinless. Only those who are pure can go to Heaven.” was his
answer.
“Ok, how much do my sins cost? What kind of work do I have
to do to earn enough to pay for them?”
“Oh, you will never earn enough to pay for them.” Bill
replied.
“There has to be something! You know, like special tasks or
maybe rituals. How many good things do I have to do to offset the sins I’ve
done?”
Bill’s reply was blunt. “There are no special tasks, no
rituals, and you can never erase your sins by simply being good.”
This news stunned me. There was no way I could ever pay the
entrance fee? Surely, there must be some way. After all, Bill and all those
others got in. “Then how do people get into The Body? How did you get in?”
Bill answered, “There is a scholarship available. The Leader
paid the entrance fee for all who would join The Body. What he did was take on
all the sins anyone has ever committed in the past or will ever commit in the
future and carried them to hell. After three days, he came back purified, leaving
all those sins in hell. All I had to do was accept the scholarship and
acknowledge the Leader as my Lord. This way, no one could brag about all the
things they had done to gain entrance.”
“How did you qualify for the scholarship and just what does acknowledging
the Leader as Lord involve?”
“I qualified by acknowledging I was a sinner, that the
Leader had paid the price for my sins on my behalf and accept the gift of the
scholarship. For the Leader to be my Lord, I must be his servant. As the Leader’s
servant, I work to be obedient to his will for my life and acknowledge I am
only a steward of the things I own and the life I have been given. I trust him
to provide for all my needs: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Letting go of
trying to do that for myself lets me enjoy my life and be at peace. I find joy
in the work he gives me, the people he brings into my life, and really
experiencing the love he showers upon me, even in the most difficult of times.”
Well, I accepted the scholarship and the lordship of the
Leader. While it didn’t happen all at once, I soon learned to live as a servant
and bask in the unending, unconditional love of the Leader and his father. Now,
when I see others who aren’t members of the body, I talk to the Leader about
how to get them to join the body. I ask him to work in their life to bring them
to someone to show them how to join, the way Bill did for me.
Life is still tough and frequently brings suffering and
pain. But now, I have the Leader in my life, and I am confident everything will
work out great because he loves me and wants only the best for me. Even during
the dark times, I can experience joy because I know the Leader is beside me and
he won’t let me be overwhelmed. Life is so wonderful that I can’t imagine
anyone refusing the join The Body and live in the presence of the Leader. Oh!
Getting to live through all eternity in Heaven with the Leader and his father
is a really big thing too!
