There was once a holy man who died and went up to heaven. He came to the pearly gates and banged on the gate. And God came out and said, "What do you want?" And the holy man said, "I am your servant. I have come." And God came said, "Sorry, there's no room for you here. Goodbye," and left. The holy man was perplexed. He sat down in front of the gate and started to ponder. "Why didn't God let me in?" And he sat for two years thinking, "Why couldn't I get into heaven?" And finally it came to him. So he banged on the gate again and God came and said, "Who are you? What do you want?" The holy man said, "I am your servant. I have converted thousands of people on your behalf. I have preached the bible to millions. I have done good deeds. Let me in." And God said, "Sorry, I don't care what you've done, there's no room in here for you," and went away.
This time the holy man was really disturbed. He couldn't understand this. "Why won't God let me in?" he said. So he sat down in front of the gate again. Centuries passed. Remember he was dead anyway so it didn't matter. He was pondering why God didn't let him in. Then it came to him. So again he got up and he banged on the door, on the pearly gates. God came out and said, "Who are you? What do you want?" And he said, "Lord, I am your humble servant, but I must confess my sins. I have had sexual affairs with my female devotees. I have eaten meat and told people I was a vegetarian. But I confess everything to you. Can I come in now?" So God looked at him and said, "I don't care what you do, there's no room for you here." And went away. Again the holy man said, "What is this? I've done everything I can. I'm going to sit at this gate if I have to sit here for all eternity, until I find out what the problem is." So he sat for years and century after century, pondering. "I confessed my sins to God. I confessed my good deeds to God. I want to get into heaven. Wait a minute, who is this I? Who is the I that committed sins? Who is the I that committed good deeds? Who is the I that wants to get into heaven? Who am I?" And all of a sudden he started laughing. It came to him. He rolled over in laughter and he got up and banged on the gate. And God came and said, "Who are you?" And he said, "I am yourself." And God opened the gate and said, "Come in. There never was a room here for me and you." Source: https://lifeherenow.com/robert-adams-on-divinity/ |