It was a beginning of a rainy day. I had neither desire, nor energy to leave my bed and go into that dump, grey reality outside… Suddenly an idea lighted my mind: What if I simply rebel against life’s demands today and put them all off till tomorrow?” I closed my eyes to disappear into my pleasant dream; my whole body relaxed; my thoughts started to slow down. But in a twinkling of an eye my invention already collapsed, as I ‘ve heard tensed voice of my mother: “Did you forget? We all have to drive to your uncle’s funeral today. Come on, hurry up! We must leave in a few minutes.” I didn’t have a choice, I had to come back from my sweet invention into a bitter reality. I stretched on the bed and felt a current of life flowing back into my body.
“Please go faster! We don’t want to be late! - urged my mom, but dad continued driving with the same speed, without even blinking. He was taught that speeding up on the road is a life and death issue and if you drive too fast, you might never arrive to your destination. “I prefer to get there alive”, - he finally responded.
At the cemetery my mind got busy watching everyone around. People were all sad and walking in slow motion, wearing black clothes. Except for some movement, they didn’t look much different from the dead ones. It seems as if this melancholic picture was always there, or at least for a long period of time… We stood together with our relatives, watching the dead body of my uncle disappear under the ground. I tried to stand still and respect the moment… “This is life”, - concluded a voice right above me. I looked around: everyone nodded his head in agreement. I could not believe my eyes and ears! Everything inside me protested against this conclusion!
“What’s the matter, son?” - asked my dad, going back to the car. “That man lied! What we all saw there was death and not life… Do you also agree to that junk?!” He took a deep breath. “It’s time for you to understand the issue of life and death… I will do my best to explain…” Suddenly my aunt stepped in to help my parents out and spoke to me: “You see, sweetie… life is given to us only for a period of time. When we fulfill our days death comes, they belong together. Check it in your dictionary when you get home.”
I protested: “I know that a person is either dead or alive! These two do not mix and there is nothing in the middle! And by the way, if your dictionary equals life to death, you should throw it away!” “Watch your manners, son” - came a familiar voice behind me. She turned away from me and concluded to her sister: “Don’t worry, darling. In this age children rebel against everything… he’ll grow out of it.” When she finally left, my father said to my mom: “Why don’t you drive home alone and we will walk. We need to discuss something important.”
“But it’s so far! It will be a very long walk… plus the rain…” - mom would always express her concerns.
“Whatever it takes. - he answered and kissed her, - Never mind the rain, we got an umbrella. We’ll find our way home. It should be somewhere on the other side of this big cemetery… I love you, don’t speed up on the road, be watchful!”
“Let’s go, - he said to me and open the umbrella above our heads, - you’ve asked a serious question, son, and requires a serious answer. In life and death issues mistakes are costly.” And we started walking on a little road with graves on each side of it. He looked around and took another deep breath: “Yea, there is a saying that death is everyone’s lot in life…” I interrupted him: “Do you mean that life is like a waiting room to sit and wait until death will come and take you out of here?”
“No, you don’t need to wait. You can step out into a different dimension.”
“Where is it then? And how is it different?” He smiled at me: “Like in mathematics, remember? Every dimension has its own measurement units. Every matter is understood and classified by its measurements. It all depends on how you measure your life.” I was trying really hard to understand: “So, it’s not only about my grades?”
“No, there is much more to life… - he stopped because our road suddenly ended in front of an entrance into a very big building. There wasn’t any road around it, to go through was the only way. We lingered at the entrance. “Is it a museum?” - I asked.
“Maybe one day it will become a museum, for now this an action place, - and he pointed to a sign above the door “Stock Market of Life”, - Let’s go inside and see.”
“Welcome to the Stock Market! - a concierge greeted us at the entrance. He was standing, leaning on a big measuring stick. - If you are together, we offer a second measuring stick half price only! You just came to a right place at the right time. Congratulations!” “No, thanks - answered my dad, we are not buying, nor selling.” In a twinkling of an eye that man got inflamed with anger: “What do you mean “Not buying, nor selling”?!? Who do you think you are? Every living person needs to buy and sell!”
“No, thank you, sir, we are only passing through the market. Can we just have a look?”
“Okay… But you cannot change your mind in the middle of the journey…” - and he looked the other way.
My father turned to me and said: “let’s go, son. I offer you my hand instead of a measuring stick.”
We started walking the long hallway, colors, sound and smells were changing with every step we made. Some of them were disgusting; others were pleasant and attractive. People around us were all in a hurry, running in different directions. They all had one thing in common though: each one of them had a measuring stick in his hand. “What a strange place,” - I thought out loud.
“This is what people call ‘life’,” - responded my dad, - A lot of buying and selling is going on here. Everyone is trying to get as many shares of the stock as he can and because the stock is limited, people are always in a hurry. See, the place is divided into rooms like departments, each one of those has its own colors, sounds and smells… It’s because each one of them has its own reality of life. When you wish to enter a certain department, you will have to exchange your measuring stick to the one they will offer you.”
“Why?”
“Because you will need to measure up to its reality. Each one has its own measures. People are different as you know. For some of them the amount of life they have is measured by riches…”
“The money on their bank account?”
“Of course, but not only that. It can be any riches. It can be luck for one, fame or power for another… Each room represent a different reality and offers different values to people. Once you enter, you start to devote yourself to that value and it becomes your goal. Some of them appear much more dignified than others, for example: a goal to become an expert in a certain field or to be appointed to a prestigious position, or even to transmit treasures to a following generations… But what attracts the most folks is simply the applause of others. It stimulates them to search for a good bargain. Whatever pulls them will decide what measurement they will use in life. Each morning the availability is announced and the merchandise begins. Everything here is on sale.”
“So, everyone here has money to buy?”
“People buy with whatever they got. You’ve heard the saying “Time is money”, right? Everything goes: ideas, performances, skills, energy and even beauty. The Stock Market is their resource of life. Some folks soften their opinions in order to make them more marketable, others subscribe to some influential organizations, which promise to their members a greater measure of the stock. People hurry to find the best bargain, for, as I told you, the stock is limited. At the end of each day everyone measures his cup: is it full or has only a few purchases? Who wants to be classified as ‘lower than average’?”
Heavy loaded, my brain was working so hard, searching for solution. “What if I will not accept any of those measurements?” - I asked my father.
If you refuse to follow the rules, you will be considered ‘a rebel’”.
“Are you a rebel? - I shoot my question at him, not being able to hide my enthusiasm.
“Everyone is a rebel in some way. The question is: Which government you’re rebelling against…”
“What do you mean? - I interrupted him again, coming back to my senses, - Is there a governor in this place? Someone runs this Stock Market?!?”
“Yes, everyone here, with no exception, has to submit to the government of death. It holds the decisive standard of this Stock Market and every single life is eventually measured against it. At a certain time, death comes like a tax collector, to collect its own. For that reason, people try not to invest in anything long duration, because no-one knows when he will receive an envelope with his name on it, saying ‘no tomorrow’. They hurry to realize their dream, to achieve, to arrive… and then inevitable death comes to pluck them out from whatever life reality they made for themselves. Death is a merciless governor. Sometimes in the middle of self-realization a person suddenly collapses… fro he dies slowly, getting exhausted from all that merchandise activity. Indeed, it puts a lot of strain on people and squeezes all juices out of them. This stock exchange only seems to continue forever; it fades until the game ends up right here, in the cemetery.”
“Wow… and no-one ever tried to rebel against its government?” - I wondered.
“Oh, yes, people always tried to protest… in different ways. They invent solutions to delay that horrible day. Over centuries human brain came up with all kinds of ideas… People can slow down the process of dying, but none is able to escape death. It’s inevitable, even for the wittiest ones.”
But I persisted: “Maybe they are not trying hard enough? I’m not afraid! I will fight against it! ” It’s impossible, son. It would be same as fighting against your own self… When a person is drowning in water, can he pull himself out? The gravity force of his own body pulls him down. How can you conquer an enemy who has got a hold in your own camp?”
“What hold? - I interrupted, - it doesn’t have a hold in me!”
“Every human is involved in this picture. It goes all the way back to the beginning of human history.”
“There was a beginning… So, it wasn’t always like that…Tell me! What went wrong in the beginning?” - I urged.
“God the Father, who is the Origin of life created two first human beings: Adam and Eve. He planted them in the garden of Eden, where life was perfect and pure, with no tincture of death in it. His original plan was to share with them His very nature… but as you said, something went wrong. One of the angels that God created, rebelled against His government and got overthrown from heaven all the way down. But he didn’t stop there. Rebellion inside his heart urged him to spread the destruction and he went against God’s creation: against Adam and Eve.”
I sensed an unfolding of a great mystery and exclaimed: “That was the very first war in human history, right?”
“True, it was meant for destruction, but didn’t look like a war, it rather looked like an offer a good bargain. That fallen angel approached them with sweet words, presenting an appealing idea of realizing their potential and a lot of other benefits. It was his own invented reality.”
“Brain wash!” - I added.
“Exactly. It looked attractive and profitable, but the solution was deadly on the inside. The moment Adam and Eve tasted of that “death” solution, it immediately dissolved within them and became a part of their nature. They rebelled against life and death a legal right to govern. They departed from life and transmitted this rebellion to all generations after them. It’s dissolved in human nature, like sugar is diluted in the tea. Death has become a part of each one of us; it hinders us from that perfect pure life we were created to live.”
Suddenly he stopped talking and pointed at the door sign “Emergency exit”. He looked at me, like we were about to take off from the ground and said: “Let’s get out! Now!”
We went out… but nothing was exiting on the outside: the same grey reality, only the rain stopped. Our narrow pathway continued further, with graves on each side of it. “There was a very sad story,” -I finally concluded.
My dad took a deep breath and responded with a surprising answer: “It doesn’t end there, - he assured me, - for God always holds the last word. And until He utters His last word, nothing is final. His last word is the Messiah, whom He anointed to govern on the earth, in place of death. This anointed King will bring us back from human inventions to a reality of a true life, for He is a Carrier of its essence. He will realize the original plan of creation. He will establish His everlasting Kingdom: rebellion will be erased; death will disappear forever and we will embrace life fully with our circumcised hearts. It’s all written in the Word of God, which is the only true constant measurement to use.”
Was it all only a parable? - I wondered out loud, but immediately interrupted myself, - Dad look! We can see our house from here!”
He picked me up into his arms and said: “I promised your mom that we’ll find our way home.”