The Ugly Door

There once was a man, who upon dying, found himself at the end of a long hallway. Meeting him was an angel, but good or bad he could not tell. Unsure of what to do and frightened, he ventured down a little further until he came to a door. Not just any door, but the most repulsive door he had ever laid eyes on. It reeked of death, so much so that his eyes watered and the man began to vomit. He ran back the other way, doing anything to escape that door as quick as possible for he never wanted to see such a terrifying thing again.

He ran into the angel yet again, and asked him "What is behind that awful door there?", his adrenaline overcoming his fear. The angel replied, "That door is the quickest way to see Jesus."

The man's heart sank. He wanted to see Jesus more than anything, but could not believe Jesus would reside behind such a door. Nonetheless, he gathered up his courage and reached for the door. He held his breath, closed his eyes, and ran in.

Upon opening them, he was in the whitest of rooms. The room was empty if not for a single chair. "This must be the waiting room to see Jesus" he thought, so he took a seat.

Immediately the room whirled around him. Images and pictures of horrible and unimaginable things surged around him. Murders, rapes, genocides, injustice, and suffering of his family and all his children, all of which were the result of things he had done in life. He tried to close his eyes, but the images persisted a seared his mind. "Make them stop!" he cried, but they only got worse. He fell flat on his face, weeping over the sorrow in the world, weeping for children, weeping for women he did not even know, but more than than weeping for himself. Overwhelmed until not an ounce of him wanted to live or even exist, he lay broken and beaten down. "No more... no more... This pain I cannot bear!" he whimpered.

"And no more must you endure for my sake. Now that you know the pain of my Father, your sins are forgiven." Jesus lifted him up. "My Lord!" exclaimed the man, now full of the Spirit, "Now I know just how far you came for me! Forever will I sing your praise! Forever will I praise your Name, the Lord most gracious and merciful! For now I know my debt, and now I can know forgiveness!"

With that, he left through the same door in which he came. Turning back to see the door one last time, he saw the most beautiful and ornate door he had ever laid eyes on. The door looked exactly the same as when he first saw it, but now his eyes were opened and filled with light. The angel turned and smiled at him, saying, "May I add one more pinch of humility?" The man, feeling so invigorated with life after going through what he just did, nodded. The angel motioned to his feet, "You stepped in something."