As Billy sat in the principal’s office, he was overcome with foreboding. He was trying to process that he was not going to matriculate. Suddenly the office was filled with a great light that blinded him. The principal’s office was nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t see anything. He felt that he was alone. He could hear nothing around him. In the distance,
he could barely make out a large sign which said purgatory.
“Oh, oh!”, Billy thought. “I don’t like the look of this!” Billy’s Mom: “Why, Billy?” Billy: “Mom?” Billy’s Mom: “It’s OK, Billy, I’m right here, loving you more than anyone, just as I have always
been.” Billy: “I can hear you, but I can’t see you, Mom.” Billy’s Mom: "You can’t see me, hear me or even touch me, Billy. I’m here in your mind.” Billy: “So you’re just a mirage?” Billy’s Mom: “In your mind, I’m more real to you than I have ever been.” Billy: “Where is the principal?” Billy’s Mom: “He’s right here with us, Billy” Billy: “Why is he not talking to us? Cat got his tongue? Oh right! I can’t see or hear him, either!”
Principal: “I’ve never been at a loss for words, Billy. But now, as your Creator, your Mom and I are me in disguise.” Billy: “Why are you in disguise?” Creator: “So you can continue to learn. Billy. I’ve always been in disguise. If I showed myself, you would be overwhelmed, disenabled and unable to learn anything. Finally, you are ‘listening’ to what I have been wordlessly teaching you? Will you finally accept my help in achieving your high school matriculation?”
Billy asked, “How long will it take?” Principal: “That’s up to you, Billy. I brought along your textbook, which you never opened. The study of the textbook, Discovering Life’s Purpose, is very undemanding. It’s the field work that takes the time. It’s in the field where you really master what you learn in Chapters 19 and 21 of the textbook and become prepared for your matriculation.” As Billy flipped through the book, Chapter 19 looked like a How-To text and Chapter 21, like a case study. Billy: “This whole curriculum is nothing more than selfless love!” Principal: “Bingo!”
Billy quickly read through Chapters 19 and 21. “Wow, this is heavy! It says your love for your creator is not simply praying for what you think you need. Instead, it must be greater than that of the dearest person in your life. Am I reading this correctly that your love for your neighbour must include everyone, even the least lovable? Your love must be perfect? How does anyone master a curriculum like this?”
Creator: “No one can do it alone. They need to invite my help. I can’t force my help on them.” Billy: “Why is this curriculum the prerequisite of matriculation?” Creator: “Because of the
wholly new world that matriculation provides. Everyone in that new world loves me and everyone else selflessly and unconditionally. It follows that no one can be there until they master that perfect love.”
Billy: “Do you help even bad people?” Creator: “There are no bad people – only people who haven't yet learned how to prevent themselves from doing bad things.” Billy: “So everyone needs to invite your help and, when they apply it to the very best of their capabilities, you will top up their best efforts? But wouldn’t it have been better for me to have done all this before I failed matriculation the first time?” Principal: “You think?”
What about you? You think?
CAST
Billy All of Us
Billy’s Mom God
Principal God
Del H. Smith conducts research into life’s meaning and is the award-winning author of the Amazon Best Seller, Discovering Life’s Purpose.