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There it was, in bold letters:
GATEWAY TO
HEAVEN!
The
burial plots about the sign were beautifully kept, and the whole
setting produced a calming effect.
Then
this pointed head had another thought: viz- WHERE IS THE OTHER GATE?
I
looked all around that cemetery without success, and as I drove down
the highway my failure deepened. Here was “Memorial Garden” “Peace
Park” and “Glen Rest” but no other gate.
“Gates
Ajar” provoked my curiosity but closer investigation showed all
parties involved had the first place in mind. The memorial tablets
carried nothing but praise for the citizens of this city.
I
was reminded of the Chinese tale of the emperor who asked his wise
man to devise a plan for national improvement. One genius suggested
that he kill all citizens then living, and resurrect the illustrious
dead to take their place. All the dead were wonderful people,
according to the tombstones. Wishful thinking must be a universal
substitute for reality.
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Must
we be so cynical? Believe me, dear ones, it is an effort to bring
you to a better hope. I know the desperate grasp for “peace, when
there is no peace”; for assurance, when our hearts are heavy.
But
where is that other gateway? IT MAY BE RIGHT THERE IN THAT
FIRST SIGN. In empty words, in soothing assurance that comes from
sympathetic friends (whom we appreciate) but who have neither right
nor reason to offer such hope.
Have
these blinded us to the truth of our situation? By taking reality
out of Hell—in essence, by denying its existence when the real
show down comes, have we reduced Heaven to a verbal tranquilizer for
the bereaved?
I
have never known anyone to object to the preacher saying a loved one
had gone to heaven; but can’t you hear the angry cries that would
go up if he said they went the other way.
“Strait
is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it.” Matt. 7”14. Check your ticket! You may
be holding a pass for the wrong gate.
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