Lazarus' Story

As Lazarus stepped through the Pearly Gates and into Paradise at a prematurely early age, his mind wandered momentarily back to his childhood and his encounter with a strange little boy. The boy was an ardent student of scripture and prophecy who was always too quick to hold forth on one thing or another with his holier than thou attitude. One day, Lazarus had enough of the boy's righteousness, more, in fact, than he could bear, so he stepped forward and gave the boy a sound thrashing. This was one little kid giving another his own personal "might makes right" philosophy. The kind of fight that happens everyday on schoolyards everywhere.

Lazarus shook the thought from his mind and looked around. The street before him was indeed paved with gold and running towards him upon that glistening road with smiles and open arms were all his loved ones who had gone before him. As they smothered him with their kisses and hugs of welcome, they told him of the many wonders he was about to experience, endless food of every variety, music, dance, wine and revelry, leisure without worry and even women if he so chose. Nothing of pleasure would ever be withheld and he was here for all eternity.

Lazarus took this all in with a feeling of tremendous awe and enormous gratitude, but his mind gave up one last thought of the strange boy he had known so long ago. I wonder, it pondered, where he is now?

And it was at this precise moment that Lazarus awoke to find himself in the dirty, poverty stricken hovel that was home to his life before death. He knew at once as he looked into the familiar eyes of the boy he knew in that distant past, that he would have to live a long and dreadful existence before he would ever walk through the Pearly Gates of Heaven again.

And now you know why Jesus resurrected Lazarus from the dead.

He was just getting even.



(This little story was inspired by a line from a Jim Harrison book, in which one of the characters inquires, more or less, (I'm too lazy to go find the actual quote) if the afterlife is such a good place, why did Jesus bring Lazarus back?)