Thud! Sammy retrieved himself from the floor, stood up, and felt in front of him with his hands. He was facing a solid wall, with no gaps below or above him. He realised that the flickering light had moved and was now to his right. He puzzled over his predicament for a moment, and walked around in small circles, totally oblivious to the fact that he could not see the ground upon which he apparently seemed to stand. The jigsaw began to fall into place. This was a maze! And his only guide was the light! Sammy started towards the light once more, and it became a little brighter. It disappeared from before him, and after a moment of obscurity, it reappeared to his left, brighter than before. The pattern continued, and Sammy, now set on the belief that the light was a guide, following it around the maze, and, with every bit of progress he made, the light became just a little bit brighter. Eventually, Sammy could see that the entire ‘room’ was filled with nothing but dense fog, and a strange hypnotic flashing.
Sammy began to take more care with his steps, as the terrain became a bit rougher, and instantaneously, the light dimmed slightly, forcing him to maintain a constant speed. It was a worrying experience for Sammy, as he had no idea of exactly what he was walking past.
After what seemed like an age, the fog began to disperse, and Sammy saw a valley before him. There was a small rickety bridge crossing it, and, on the other side, what seemed to be a man stood. The flashing seemed to stem from his hands, while the rest of him glowed in brilliant white. Sammy was seriously afraid of heights, and was unsure whether crossing a rickety old bridge was really such a good idea. But something deep inside him told him that he had to go on, and he took to the narrow twigs bridging the abyss. Sammy looked through his feet to the valley below. It was so deep that the valley floor was not visible, only the jagged edges, and the jagged peaks of rugged rocks jeering at his fear. Sammy’s heart pounded with fear, but he continued to cross the bridge, in pursuit of the ‘man with the light’.
He was halfway across when he was finally able to clarify that the flashing light was coming from the hands of a man wearing an identical white robe to his own. Acknowledging that this man was probably the key to everything, he continued his slow and fearful progress across the valley. Although the bridge rocked numerous times, planks fell through and down into the valley, and his heart missed numerous beats, Sammy reached the other side of the bridge. The man with the light in his hands was sat on a rock, leant up against a wall of darkness. The man had neat, straight brown hair, and a perfectly trimmed goatee. Sammy approached the man, who was smiling at him. Unnerved, Sammy demanded in a tone much sharper than he intended;
“Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here? How did I get here?”
The light faded from the man’s hands and the room itself began to light up. Calmly, the man replied
“Greetings, my friend. You must be Samuel Jackson. You were a tough one. Though may I congratulate you on your swift arrival. You found the second trial hard, but you came through strongly in the end”.
“What!” Sammy cried, understanding nothing of what the man was saying to him.
“Have you any idea as to why you are here?” asked the man in an astonished tone. “Can you not remember what happened before you arrived here?”
Sammy looked at the floor silently. He had thought about that, but he had paid no real attention to that at all. He had been more worried about getting away from his predicament.
“I see,” the man said. “Well I will try to keep this simple, my child, as it may be hard for you to accept.”
He paused, took a deep breath, and continued in a measured tone.
“You are Sammy Jackson. You were a businessman for ELK Business Solutions. You were on your way to a meeting at the Hammersmith Conference Centre with the C.E.O. of IBM, to discuss a possible merger that would have landed you a £3.6million personal bonus.”
“I remember!” exclaimed Sammy. He began to relive the memory in his mind. “I was in the car on the ‘66. The traffic was awful. I was stuck behind that stupid dump truck and I pulled over to pass it. Then…something…the back…I saw them…it was too late…” Sammy tailed off, sniffling. He could remember it clearly now. He had been forty miles per hour over the limit and was in the completely wrong lane. He had pulled in front of an oncoming car, and lost control of the car in panic. There was fire, and screams of agony all around him. Then it had all gone black. Or was it white? He grimaced at nothing.
“I’m dead aren’t I?” Sammy said to the man.
“You are, my child,” replied the man. “But you must persevere. There is still one trial to go”.
“Trial?”
“When someone dies, the angels in heaven have to decide if that person is worthy of admission to the Kingdom of God. If they cannot decide, the person has to go through a trial, consisting of three smaller trials. One is a trial of faith in God. The second is a trial of faith in oneself. And the third is the ultimate trial. When you died, the angels in heaven could not decide what to do with you. You have just completed the first two trials.”
“I have?”
“Yes, an you performed with excellence. In the first trial, you turned to God for the answers, and they were given to you. In the second trial, you were forced to follow what your heart told you, even though it was conceivable that it could be dangerous for you. Through these challenges, you have proved that you can overcome your own fears, realise your faith, and achieve what your heart desires”.
“And the third?” Sammy asked, in a daze, quite unable to accept what was going on as real. He was dead! And yet he was being tried. It made no sense to him. The man put his hand into one of his pockets in his robe, and pulled out a small round, gold ball.
“See this ball,” the man told him. “I will throw it, and you will have just 10 minutes to find it again”.
“And that’s my ultimate trial?” asked Sammy, too amazed by it all to be scornful.
“Yes”.
Sammy looked at the man. This was a very strange ultimate trial, given that eternal salvation was the ultimate prize. But there was no time for questions.
“Ready?” asked the man.
“Yeah,” Sammy said casually.
“Find the ball,” said the man flatly. “Ten minutes”.
The man threw the ball. Sammy gave chase.
A flash of light.
He was racing. He loosened the collar of his suit as he struggled to breathe. His throat was on fire. The sign read ‘A66 Delays Expected’. The traffic was slowing and dense. Only ten minutes. Must get to the Hammersmith. Must get to the meeting. Only ten minutes. The lorry braked in front of him.
“C’mon!” screamed Sammy at the lorry driver, who was slowing down to maintain a safe distance between him and the drivers in front. Sammy had no time. Eight miles to go. Only ten minutes. The lorry was too slow. He had to pass it. Sammy swerved to the right, into the opposite lane. The oncoming car screeched its brakes. He saw the car. Slamming on the brakes, he snatched the front wheels. The horrified faces of the family in the oncoming car flashed brightly in front of Sammy’s equally horrified face. The stench of burning brake discs filled the air. The road was brought to a halt, clouds of brake dust billowed from the tyres of the two screeching vehicles, and the heaven braced itself for the collision imminent.
Find the ball. Ten minutes.
Sammy spun the steering wheel to the left. The brakes would not free up! In one final effort, Sammy jumped off the brakes, and onto the accelerator. The machine responded instantaneously, and wrenched itself forward. The car flashed past his window, the family inside it displaying sighs of relief all over their faces and in their body language as Sammy’s vehicle squeezed past them only millimetres away from their bonnet. They came to a halt within centimetres.
Sammy stamped on the brakes and stopped. He breathed the biggest sigh of relief in history. Then he sprang out of his car like a hunting cat, and sprinted towards the vehicle that he had so nearly hit. He yanked the door open.
“Is everybody OK?” he cried. “I’m so sorry! Is everybody OK? Is anybody injured?”
The faces of everybody in the car remained flat. The driver of the car held out her hand. She was holding a perfectly rounded ball.
“I think you are looking for this,” she said, smiling. “May God bless you”.
Sammy stared into her eyes for a second, searching for anything to escape the feelings of terror he had experienced just a few seconds ago, but he found nothing. He held out his hand, and took the ball. He opened his mouth to say thank you, but before he could, there was another flash of bright light, and he remained silent.
When his eyes opened, he was standing, once more dressed in a white robe, before a huge staircase of pure gold. Above him was a cloud, and he could not see the top. He began to climb the stairs, clutching the ball in his left hand. As the cloud cleared, he saw a huge gold throne. As he approached, he saw a man with the most beautiful crown upon his head. The man was smiling at Sammy.
“Congratulations Sammy,” said the man. ”You have proved you are worthy of eternal salvation, and my Father has sent me to welcome you into his Kingdom of Happiness”.
“Was that my trial?” asked Sammy in bewilderment. “To overcome my fear and survive?”
“Fear is the gift of the Devil,” said the man. “You have rid yourself of the demons of sin and fear. That is how you retrieved the key”.
“The ball is the key?”
“And there are the gates,” said the man, gesturing to his left. Sammy saw the tallest set of pearly gates he had ever seen in his life. Turning from the man, who followed behind him, he walked towards the gates, the key held before him. The gates opened for him automatically, and he was greeted by the most beautiful singing of angels he had ever heard. Then the man cried to them all,
“Tonight we celebrate! For today, a new man is born into our league of angels”.
And Sammy looked into the distance, and saw a table piled high with food. All the trials of his life, and even his trial in death had led him to this point. And now he was sure that he would be able to enjoy eternal happiness in the security and love of God’s Heavenly Kingdom.