Four people
died, and found themselves standing together before the Throne of Judgment. The
Throne was a mile high, made of gold, and mounted atop a great golden gate wide
enough for armies to march through. And the figure upon the throne appeared
like a thunderstorm with a golden crown. From the Throne boomed a deep voice
commanding “Stand before me and tell me why you belong in my kingdom”.
The first
person to stand before the throne said, “I’m gay. I’ve heard different opinions
about what you think of that, but I know I’m just how you made me. And you
talked a lot about love, so I figured that was more important to you than my
orientation and …”
The voice
from the throne interrupted, “You are not the kind of person
who belongs
in my kingdom. Go to the next door.”
The second
person to stand before the throne said “I was a straight ally. I knew that the
Bible said some things that seemed to be anti-gay, but I looked at the behavior
of Jesus Christ – the things He said and did, the people he hung out with – and
I figured that if I was going to err one way or the other, I should err on the
side of loving sinners rather than hating sin. I felt that the verses
condemning homosexuals must have been misinterpreted, or based on a specific cultural
context that wasn’t intended to apply for the time and place I lived in. And I
looked at how the Bible described Jesus and thought that, in any debate, you
would be on the side of the underdog.”
The voice
from the throne intoned in deep disapproval, “You were wrong. I expect to be
obeyed, and I expected you to tell others to obey me. You are not the kind of
person who belongs in my kingdom. Go to the next door.”
The third to
stand before the throne said “I tried my best to follow what the Bible said. It
was hard, because I knew that you don’t approve of homosexuality, but I also
knew you wanted me to treat gay people with respect. So I voted against gay
marriage, and I taught my own children that gays were sinners like any of us,
and needed to repent of their sin, but I didn’t preach against homosexuality or
try to make the gays stop being gay or anything like that.”
The voice
from the throne thundered “You didn’t go far enough. You should have told
everyone that they should fear my wrath. You are not the kind of person who
belongs in my kingdom. Go to the next door.”
The fourth
person to stand before the throne said “I told everyone who’d listen, and lots
of people who wouldn’t, that the gays were going to hell for their sinful,
unnatural acts unless they repented. I feared for their souls and I told them
so. I refused to allow them to take communion in my church unless they were
willing to repent – and you’d be amazed, NONE of them did. But I know I
obeyed, and I tried to get them to obey, because I knew this moment would come
for all of us and we should be afraid.”
The voice
said “You sound like the kind of person who might belong in my kingdom. Tell
me, how many gays did you beat up? How many did you stone to death for their
unnatural acts?”
The fourth
person was taken aback, and said “None! That’s assault and murder! Hurting
people is the OPPOSITE of what you always told us to do, isn’t it? Besides, you
didn’t expect me to break the laws of the country I lived in, did you?”
The voice
roared “The only law that matters is MINE! No, you do not belong in my kingdom
either. Go to the next door.”
All four,
very puzzled to be lumped together in the same group, and feeling hurt by their
rejection, made their way to the next door, a narrow wooden door. Before that
door stood an unwashed, brown-skinned, bare-footed, long-haired man, who
appeared to be no longer young but not yet middle-aged. He opened the door for
them and said to them all, “Welcome to Heaven, children. Your sins are
forgiven. Come on in through this door.”
The four were
stunned by the words, and asked, “What? Didn’t God just tell us we weren’t
welcome into his Kingdom?”
The man pushed
back his hair, revealing a crown of thorns. He smiled and said “No, that wasn’t
Dad on the throne. That was Satan.”
© John M.
Munzer
