Tom and John had been friends forever. They were born in the same hospital on the same day and had cribs next to each other in the nursery. They played together every day and were in the same class together from kindergarten until they graduated high school. But there was one time every week that John knew he would not see his friend Tom—at church. John and his family went to church every Sunday, but Tom and his family stayed home. That was because John’s was Christian, and Tom’s were heathens.
Now John understood that it wasn’t Tom’s fault that he was unholy, obviously his parents had never been exposed to the love of Jesus, so they never knew to teach Tom of his love. So John took it upon himself to tell Tom about Jesus. For hours John and Tom would discuss Jesus and Religion and Science and what was right and wrong. But for some reason John could never convince Tom to see the truth. But that did not stop him from trying.
After Tom and John graduated high school they realized it was time to part ways. Tom was going to college to become an engineer, and John was going into the seminary to be a man of God. John begged Tom to repent and accept Jesus one last time. He was sure Tom was going to hell and it pained him so because he loved Tom and wanted him to be with him in heaven. Tom again refused, and John said goodbye to him with a heavy heart. He made a silent prayer that before God sent Tom’s soul to hell he would give John one last chance to save him.
Years passed. John got a church and a congregation of his own and preached about Jesus. He made sure that his people knew Jesus had his eye on them all. He warned them of the seven deadly sins: Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath, Greed, and Sloth. And he made sure to practice what he preached:
Pride—he made sure to never get too good at anything, even checkers, so he never had an excuse to boast.
Envy—he withdrew from his congregants outside of church so he may not become of anything they had that he had not.
Gluttony—he ate only simple foods like bread and water and drank only the weekly communion wine.
Lust—he stayed away from all women, unless he was preaching them the gospel, so as to never be tempted to be lustful.
Wrath—he never allowed himself to become too passionate about any subject, except Jesus, lest he become angry should someone have a different viewpoint.
Greed—he lived in a simple room above the church, with only a bed, a desk, a lamp, and his bible for study.
Sloth—He only allowed himself five hours sleep a night, and when he was not composing a sermon he was reading the bible or praying.
As John grew older he found his life harder to bear. Often the sin of envy would creep up on him. He saw young families in his church, husbands kissing wives, playing with their children. He overheard them talking about their great vacations, or nice cars, or pretty girls and could not help but imagine what his life would be like if he could have some of those worldly pleasures. What if he just let one or two extra little pleasures into his life? Surely Jesus would not begrudge him a piece of cake, or an afternoon movie! But then he remembered the wonders awaiting him in Heaven, his eternal reward. He could not give up Heaven for a piece of cake. In times like those he redoubled his efforts, lived on water for days, slept only a few hours a night and spent the rest of the time begging God’s forgiveness for his lapse. His congregants could always tell when he had had one of his lapses from the fiery sermons he gave.
John grew to be a very old man. Soon his church hired another pastor to help him out. John would preach one Sunday, the new pastor would preach the next. This left John with a lot more free time than he would have liked. In order to keep from slothfulness he decided to start visiting the hospital more often. He would visit men and women on their death bed, tell them the wonders of Heaven and ask them to repent and be saved.
One John he entered the room of a dying man surrounded by people. The man in the bed asked why he was there. John told him here was a local pastor who helped dying people with the transition into the next world, to take away their fear and deliver them into the arms of Jesus. The man in the bed said he appreciated John’s concern, but he was an atheist and did not need any help. The man said he had lived a good, full life, had no regrets, and was ready to be done. John tried to argue with the man, but he was old, and weak, and did not have the fire of his youth. Slowly, sadly, he turned to exit the room.
As he shuffled out the door, he noticed a young man walking down the hall toward him. Something about that young man sparked a recognition in John’s mind—he knew that face! Suddenly he knew! This man must be Tom’s grandson! He turned around again to look into the crowd of people surrounding the dying man’s bed. On almost every face he saw Tom. John cried out, “Tom! Tom, is it you! I am John, your best friend from childhood! Surely Jesus has answered my prayer and delivered me to you as your one last chance for salvation!”
The dying man sat up a little in bed and squinted at John. His face lit up with recognition. “John? It has been a long time!”
The two men spoke animatedly now. Tom introduced John to his wife and family, he had many children, grandchildren, and his newborn great-grandchild. He told John about his life, as an engineer he had excelled and used his talents to build the safest bridges in the world. He had become wealthy, but gave much of his money to charities. After he retired he became involved with politics and lobbied for environmental reform. He and his wife traveled the country visiting his many children. He truly had lived a rich, full life.
Listening to Tom’s tales John forgot himself. When it was finally time to leave, John realized he had not done a single thing to convert Tom. Wracked with guilt, he begged Tom to listen to him about Heaven and Hell and Jesus, but Tom said he was tired now, and did not want to listen to what he had to say. John implored him one more time, telling Tom his sorrow that he could not be with him in Heaven. Tom stopped him short and said:
No, John, don’t feel sorrow for me. I have lived my life to perfection, and now it is over. There is no sorrow there, only truth. It is you who should be sorrowful. You have wasted your whole life searching for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but there is no pot of gold. Please, try to live a little before you die.
John left Tom in his hospital bed, surrounded by family and love and walked back to his own tiny room. He kneeled on the floor and clasped his hands to his face and cried out to Jesus, “Please, God! Tell me Tom is wrong! Tell me my life lived was not in vain!” But John did not hear any booming voice, see any signs, just silence. He crawled into bed, and fell asleep.
When Tom passed his children, grandchildren, friends, coworkers remembered him and told stories about his life. His charities erected memorial plaques in his name, his bridges stood as eternal edifices of his life. When John passed, there was no family to mourn him, no stories to tell. Eventually even his congregation forgot who he was. He never got his pot of gold, because he never realized that the rainbow—his life—was the prize, and that’s all there was. :smack:
