1 Ch 0: Death is but the Beginning

What does it mean to die? It is to go home. It is to finally find rest. It is to find peace. Death is a release that he had always looked forward to. He was born to serve, to protect, to live, and to die for his God, his country, his family, his friends, and his neighbors who may never know his name. His raison d'etre was to kill until he was dead so that others would not. Death would be his release. The sign that the mission he had willing shouldered for so long was finally completed. That he could now rest content in the knowledge that he had done all he could. Death was something to greet with a smile, and he had.

But now, standing before the Pearly Gates of Heaven, he felt restless. Did he genuinely desire peace? Did he genuinely want rest? Was the Eternal Peace offered to him something he would enjoy? As he stood there before Saint Peter, a mere step away from the peace he had sought for so long, a mere step from the God he worshiped and adored, a mere step away from all the friends and family he had lost along the way and longed to see again. He found himself frozen, unable to take that final step.

Peace. Eternal Peace. Now that he stood on the brink, he became doubtful. Afraid. Eternal Peace? Was that not eternal boredom? What about the thrill of battle? The satisfaction of pushing beyond one's limits? The camaraderie that could never be described or understood by those who had never risked their lives together. Which could only be forged in the fires of tribulation and struggle? Could he really give all that up to spend eternity singing praises to the One True God? Eternity? The thought terrified him.

But what about his family? His friends? His God? They were right in front of him! Everyone he had ever longed to be with again; to see, to hear, to smell, to touch. There they were, just waiting for him to take that final step. And what about all those he had left behind with his passing? They would be looking forward to meeting him again as well once their time came. If he didn't step forward, how would they feel once they arrived and found him missing? Could he bear to disappoint them? And what were his other options anyway? Give up eternal peace for eternal damnation? Hell no!! He was no masochist! Just keep standing here? He had never been a coward; inaction was not an acceptable option here.

And so he stepped forward. Prepared to face his fears and apprehension. But, before he could complete that step which he had been agonizing over, he was stopped. Saint Peter had stretched out his hand and was resting his hand on his shoulder with a gentle smile on his face arresting his movement.

"I have never seen someone like you," Peter said with fascination in his eyes.

"I have seen people beg to be allowed in, plead to be sent back, wail that they don't deserve the punishment that is their due, feign humility proclaiming that they are not worthy even as they walk through these gates with pride. But you are the first to genuinely be apprehensive about entering Paradise."

The gentle smile that had been plastered on Peter's face since he had arrived widened as a glint of worship entered his eyes.

"Our Lord knew that this would not be your paradise and has made different arrangements for you."

The world before his eyes began to shift and warp like a kaleidoscope as the weight of the hand on his shoulder vanished. Before he could sort out what was happening, his view stabilized, and he found himself standing before a set of stairs. Curiosity led him to raise his head to see where the stairs led. However, before his sight could raise beyond the 6th step, a voice rang out above his head.

"My child."

A voice as mighty as thunder and as gentle as a light rain. A voice filled with unyielding sternness and unending love. He knew this voice. Though he had never heard it before, he knew this voice. As he fell to his knees in reverence with his head bowed and tears in his eyes, his voice slipped out somewhere between a wail from his soul and a whisper from his heart

"Father."

He was in the presence of his Heavenly Father. His One True God. The Great I Am who he had dedicated his all to ever since he had accepted Him into his heart at the age of seven. Silence followed his solitary word as he and the Almighty simply basked in each other's presence. Then the King of Kings and Lord of Lords spoke.

"You have spent all your life fighting. Every trial you have encountered, you have overcome and grown stronger. Never taking a step back, never allowing a word of complaint to escape your lips or a sliver of doubt to enter your mind and through your actions, My light has shined upon this world, bringing many lost back to me, by your example. But now you are not happy with the paradise I offer to you."

"No, I'm sorry," he whispered in reply.

"I desire eternal happiness and joy for all of my children. Therefore, I will offer you your version of paradise. Speak. Let me hear your desires."

"Oh Lord, you know my sinful desires. I want to defend the defenseless. For I am greedy for their gratitude. I want to strike down those who would oppress the innocent. For my wrath towards the merciless is unending. I want to grow and improve without end. For I am envious of those above me. I want to find love and be loved by many. For my lust is unquenchable. I want to fight. For I am proud. I want to peer into the deepest secrets and know the most intricate mysteries. For my gluttonous mind will never be satisfied. And I want to know days of peace and simple contentment devoid of worry or fear. For I am lazy by nature."

"So shall it be! The world you have known is but the beginning. All those worlds you have read about are real. Given form by My angels who have left My side in pursuit of their own purposes and given breath by the belief of you, My children, who believe in them. You shall be cast out of heaven and wander those worlds for eternity. What you do and who you will become will be in your own hands. I will grant you three gifts to aid you in your journey.

First, I gift you the Tongue of Babel. Before the Tower of Babel was built, all spoke a single language, and to stop their efforts, I scattered their tongues so that they would no longer know each other's words. You shall now understand the meaning of all languages instinctually. You will still need to learn to speak and write those languages, but henceforth you will always know the meaning behind any written or spoken words.

Second, I gift you the Eye of True Knowledge. Henceforth, your right eye shall grant you True Knowledge. All that you see, you shall understand, and the deeper you look, the more you shall know. How to use that knowledge will be for you to discover.

Third, I gift you Unlimited Potential. Never again shall you be bound by the limits of talent or the Laws that govern a world. You shall grow without end achieving any and all things you put your time and effort into."

God's voice echoed throughout Heaven, and beneath the throne, His child's body began to quiver. Joy and anticipation for the grace he had been granted shook him to his core, and as his emotions built within him, crescendoing to an uncontainable peak, his voice erupted from within him filled with joy and vigor.

"Thy will be done!" he declared with all his heart and soul and disappeared to seek out his new eternity.

And so in another world, so far and yet so near, a baby was born, and the beginning began.