Heaven And Hell
When John died, an angel came to take him to heaven. While they were on their way, the angel told John that God had granted him a chance to fulfill a last wish as he had been an exceptionally good person.
John had always been curious about how hell was like. So he said, “I always wonder how hell is like. Could we go visit?”
“Very well. Let me take you there now,” the angel obliged.
In no time, they arrived at a place where there was a great pot. So great that it was as big as a lake. The pot was filled with nutritious stew. All the way around the sides of this pot were people. Because it was dinner time, everyone was rushing to scoop their share of the stew with the spoons they were holding.
“Hmm… There is food enough for everyone. So why do they still look emaciated, starving, and miserable?” John thought to himself.
Then John realized that the handle of each spoon was so much longer than the arm of its owner. While everyone could scoop up the stew into the spoon, the stew would fall off before they could get it to their mouths. So here were all these pathetic people, suffering and moaning in agony, constantly trying to eat the food that was abundantly in front of them - all in vain.
“Have you seen enough?” the angel asked after a while. John nodded his head. “Good. Now we can go back to heaven,” the angel said.
When they reached heaven, John was surprised to see the same setting as in hell. There it was, a giant lake-like pot of the same stew, surrounded by people with long spoons. Yet something was different here - all these people were smiling, happy, and healthy looking!
“I don’t understand,” John was perplexed. “Everything is the same as in hell. Yet the people in heaven are happy and well fed. Why? What’s the difference?”
The angel smiled, “Why don’t you see for yourself?”
John started to observe more carefully. He saw that one person would scoop up the stew, and bring it to the mouth of another. Then someone else would scoop up stew and feed it to the other.
John finally understood. The people in heaven had learned to feed each other. They had found the way of love.
