Sally and Stevie attend the
same church, but they are not part of the same set. They greet one another in
church and occasionally exchange a few pleasantries about some banal
subject—the weather, the church picnic, or the general depravity of the nation.
That’s about it.
Sally’s set is the
Bible-reading, long-praying, bold-witnessing set. She teaches Sunday School,
memorizes Scripture, and shows up with her family every time the doors of the
church are open. She has a smile for everyone, never becomes angry, and runs
her family efficiently. Her children and her husband rise up and call her
blessed. Though she pretends not to know it, her friends call her Saintly
Sally.
Stevie’s set? Well, Stevie
doesn’t really have a set. Though he always hopes to be included, he is
socially ungifted. When he manages to back a conversation partner into a
corner, his victim typically glances frantically around, looking for a kind
soul who will sacrifice himself by distracting Stevie’s attention. It is a vain
hope.
Sally has gotten into the
habit of mentally referring to him as Stupid Stevie. His lack of social grace
carries over into the workplace, which has cost him several jobs. Stupid
Stevie. When he gets a little money, he spends it because he deserves a
vacation or a new toy. Therefore, his family is always dangling over the brink
of insolvency. No one at church can understand how they manage to hang on.
Stupid Stevie.
At home, Stevie insists on
being the center of attention. Fortunately, he is not a violent man, but he
exercises his power in other ways. He says “no” to his wife and children at
every opportunity because it feeds his ego. He has never learned the power of “yes.”
Stevie complains endlessly that he doesn’t receive the respect he deserves. If
he would listen, the folk at church would like to tell him that he has not
earned the respect of his family. Stupid Stevie.
Sally sometimes wonders what
kind of place Stevie could ever fill in heaven. “Maybe the Lord will assign him
the task of cleaning the toilets,” she says to herself with a chuckle. “I think
he might manage that if the toilets in heaven never get dirty.”
How does Stevie see his
relationship to God? His connection to the Lord feels like a greased grapevine.
He swings through the jungle of life always just a few feet above the hungry
lions. Hand over hand, hand over hand—Stevie tries to climb up to Jesus. He
believes in Jesus. He wants to be near Jesus, but whenever he makes a bit of
progress, fate squirts a little more grease on the grapevine and down he
slides. His great fear is that he will reach the end of the vine, his faith
will fail, and the prowling beasts below will tear him limb from limb. He does
not know that underneath him are the everlasting arms. He does not recognize the
many times those arms have lifted him up, and His Father has whispered, “Your
faith shall not fail.”
One day, the angel of death
came calling, first at Sally’s house, and then at Stevie’s.
Sally lay on a clean white
sheet under a flowered coverlet. Her family were ringed around her bedside
absorbing her final blessings—a word of hope and confidence for each one. At
last she said, “I think I’ll be going now,” and she closed her eyes. When she
opened them again, it seemed that her bed had become an open boat garlanded
with blossoms and guided by a shining being across the wide river of death. On
the other shore glorious angels greeted her with shouts of joy and conducted
her to the throne room of the King of kings.
“Welcome to My home. It is
good to have you here, my child,” He said. Awestruck by His beauty, Sally said
nothing.
“You have served me long and
diligently, Sally. My angels will conduct you to a changing room. There you
will find your new garments and the accessories, which are your reward. Do not
tarry long because someone you know will be arriving shortly.”
A few minutes later, Sally
reappeared, robed in white with a golden circlet around her forehead. Jewels sparkled
in her in her hair and on her crown. Her robe was trimmed with golden braid.
Sapphire earrings and a matching sapphire necklace set off her blue eyes to
perfection. She was very pretty. She knew it, and she was very pleased.
As she stepped out of the
changing room, she followed the watching eyes of the assembled heavenly beings.
There, up in the air, a long way off flew a shining angel carrying a wriggling,
flopping bundle. What was it?
The bundle was Stevie. On the
last day of his earthly life, Stevie felt himself inexorably slipping down his
grapevine. The hungry beasts were growling below, but he no longer had the
strength to struggle back up out of their reach. He wailed. He cried. He begged
for mercy, “Pease, Lord, just one more day, just one more hour.” Then he came
to the end, and he fell. The lion looked up and opened his mouth in greedy
anticipation, but just then a strong hand latched on to the back of Stevie’s
nightshirt and bore him off into the heavens.
After a few seconds, Stevie
gathered up enough breath and enough courage to look back over his shoulder.
The shining face of the angel was too bright for him to bear, so he looked
away, back down toward the rapidly receding earth. “Who are you?” he managed to
croak.
“I am the angel of death.”
“I thought you were supposed
to be dark, ugly, and holding a sharp sickle,” said Stevie.
“I appear in that guise to
some people, but never to the beloved ones. Here we are. You are home.”
With that, the angel swooped
past the gates, towers, and walls and deposited Stevie on the floor in front of
the King’s throne. He landed on his hands and knees with an awkward thump.
“Stupid Stevie,” thought Sally. “He can’t even enter heaven in a proper
fashion.”
After Stevie had managed to
scramble to his feet, the King said, “Welcome. It is very good to have you
here, my child.”
“Am I... am I actually in
heaven? Are you going to let me stay?”
“Yes, indeed. You belong to
Me. This is My home, and where I am, there you are to stay for all eternity.”
“But I have been so bad. I’ve
made a mess of my life. I haven’t done anything for You, as Sally has. She
deserves to be here, but I don’t.”
“No one deserves to be here,
My child. I have forgiven all your past because you believed that I died for
sinners and rose again. I was your only hope and you clung to me. Many times
when you were about to fall into the lion’s mouth I lifted you up. I kept you,
and I have brought you home.”
Stevie’s eyes shone with
adoration and wonder. “You are amazing, Lord! I love You. I love You. I love
You.”
At that moment, there was
such an explosion of light that Sally had to close her eyes. When she opened
them again she saw Stevie, but what a change had come over him! He was robed in
a white so brilliant that she could hardly bear to look at him. He had not a
single reward of gold or gem, but he was standing much nearer the throne than
she. Sally looked down at her own gown. It was still white, but his shone like
the sun.
She looked up at her Lord,
and He answered the question in her face that she dared not utter.
“Did you not know that
closeness to Me in heaven depends not on what you have accomplished, but on how
much you love Me? Some have done great deeds out of a small love, and they
shall receive a small reward. Others have done small deeds, according to their
ability, out of a great love, and they shall receive a great reward.
“The great deed of some
exceedingly weak ones is that they kept clinging with their feeble faith to Me.
When at last they come into My presence and see how I have upheld them, their
hearts fairly burst with love. He who is forgiven little loves little. He who
is forgiven much loves much. So Stevie is here close to Me.”
“Oh, my Lord,” cried Sally.
“In my heart I have despised this one that you love, and with my mouth I have
made many a snide remark to my friends about this glorious son of Yours. I even
called him ‘Stupid Stevie’ when the angel dropped him down before Your throne.
I never saw the wickedness of my heart as I see it now. Can you ever forgive
me? Can Stevie ever forgive me?”
Sally bowed her head and
tears began to fall in a little pool at her feet. God’s shining son, Stevie,
turned around, came toward Sally, and put an arm around her shoulders. “Of
course, I forgive you Sally. I have always admired you. I used to think you
were wonderful, and I still do.”
Suddenly, a blinding light
flashed out from Him who sat on the throne. Sally closed her eyes briefly. When
she opened them again, she and Stevie were standing side by side close to the
throne. She looked down at her gown and saw that it was gleaming white, as
bright as the sun.
And so the first shall be last,
and the last shall be first.
