Nakar turned to the camera, “Here you are my friends, Tom’s first encounter with the humans.”
“The first…? Nakar, Wait!”
It was too late.
The view screen showed a small lake just as Tom had described. Tall trees crowded around the clear crystalline pond. Lush palm trees waved in the gentle breeze. Below these were hues of flowers lining the blue water. A patch of white beach lined the edge of the pool to the right. In the water, eight children laughed and splashed as they tossed a coconut to each other. Their skin varied in color from light to dark. So did the color of their hair and eyes.
“Those are humans,” said El.
“Humans? So that’s what they look like.” Tom leaned closer for a better look focusing the camera for a close-up. “They have no feathers. Where are their wings?”
El laughed. “No, I made them without feathers. They have no wings either.”
“How do they fly?”
“These beings are limited to the ground. Because they have dominion over animals, they can ride beasts for luxurious travel or covering long distances quickly.”
“I never imagined they would be so beautiful! They’re so agile! And the colors! You even made the humans in various shapes, sizes and colors!”
“Of course I did. They each have unique personalities, too. They are more different on the inside than they are on the outside.”
“Wow! Just like you did with us angels. May I play with them?” Tom asked.
El laughed. “Sure, go ahead. However, let me dress you as a human child first. Otherwise, you might frighten them.”
With that, El stretched out his hand. Tom looked fully human: handsome, dark hair, young, a bit short but quite dashing.
“Go ahead, Tom,” said El. “These are children. I made you look their age. Let me have the camera.”
Tom crept ahead. Smiling, he gazed around a tree then stepped onto the beach. “Hi there!” he shouted.
The kids stopped playing. “Who are you?” growled one of the girls. Her dark eyes cut like daggers. Her pleasant features cloaked the creature within.
Tom stood, his hand still in the air. He cocked his head, his mouth still open. He stood there.
“I remember this,” Tom said sadly, as he watched the monitor. “I kept wondering why they would not welcome me. How was it they didn’t know I had come to get to know them?”
“Give us your thoughts, Tom,” requested Nakar gently as the Tom in the monitor finally closed his mouth. His eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. He stood there looking at each human, one at a time.
Tom began to speak in a streaming thought narration: “In heaven, a stranger is welcomed with kindness and opened arms. We take every effort to make a stranger feel comfortable and welcome. Meeting someone new is an opportunity for making another lifelong friend. It is always a joyful occasion when someone new comes around. Many communities frequently post watchers – just in case someone should happen by.
“Sometimes it takes weeks to travel through a new area because everyone wants a stranger to stop. They will invite a stranger to tea, or a meal – just to get to know them. On the other hand, when they are in a hurry they will offer to travel with them for a while – just to talk and see that the stranger is comfortable while traveling through their land. Making new friends is a favorite pastime of everyone in heaven. This is why we have that song:
“Celebrations are times for renewing old friendships.
Traffic jams are opportunities to celebrate.”
Another girl on the monitor broke the silence; “Well, are you going to say something or are you just going to stand there looking stupid?”
A third girl yelled, “You’re new here, aren’t you? Did your folks come from the hill country?”
The first girl shouted, “You’re hill people aren’t you? You’re from one of those tribes! We don’t like hill people and we especially don’t like you!”
“Look at him! What’s the matter? Can’t you talk?” yelled the third girl. “At least put your arm down. It makes you look dumb!”
They all laughed.
One of the boys shouted, “Hey! Who dressed you, your mother?”
“I think it was his preacher! Look at that get-up! You’re not planning to swim in that outfit, are you? Change your diaper! We don’t want you to pollute the water,” again they laughed.
“Well?” demanded the first girl. “What do you want?”
“I’m Tom,” he said surprised at the cruelty in her voice.
“Maybe he just wants to play with us,” said a younger boy.
“Shut up!” she snapped pushing him into the water. “We don’t want to play with his kind. He’s not like us!” Then she turned to Tom and glared hard, “Is that what you want?” She snarled. “Well go away, we don’t want to play with you. We were happy before you got here! We want to keep it that way – just the eight of us. Nine is a crowd.”
Tom lowered his arm and clenched his stomach. His face cringed in pain and confusion. He just stood there.
In heaven, a stranger is welcomed with kindness and joy. Strangers are opportunities for making lifetime friends… Crowds will travel with you just to make certain you enjoy their land and hurry back.
“Look at him! What’s the matter! Can’t you talk?” yelled another boy. “Something wrong with your stomach?” They laughed, again.
“Don’t talk to him. If we ignore him he will eventually go away.”
“The voices swam in my head. ‘Who dressed you? Your mother? Go away! We don’t like your kind!’”
Tom’s shoulders sagged. Water started collecting in his eyes. He rubbed his nose.
“Is he still there?” the first girl didn’t even bother looking as she asked.
A boy threw a coconut to her then glanced past her shoulder. “Yah.”
“Go away.” She said still not looking at him. “Don’t you know when you’re not wanted?” She turned throwing mud at him. “This is a private pool! Get lost!”
“Now look, you’re making him cry!” said one of the boys.
“Are you crying? Look at him! The little boy is going to cry. He interrupts our game then he starts to bawl! Dumb kid’s going to cry-y! Dumb kid’s going to cry-y”
The others joined in the chant. “Cry baby; cry baby, Dumb kid’s a cry baby!”
Tom turned to go. El was waiting for him behind a tree.
“Why did they do that, El? I thought they were supposed to be like you.”
“What happened, Tom?”
“They took one look at me and said they didn’t like me. They rejected me without even getting to know me. I was so shocked I couldn’t speak! I don’t understand. Why did they do this?”
“They didn’t reject you, Tom; they rejected me and my ways. They are children of their father,” Then El added. “Human relationships are very difficult to understand.”
“And strange.”
“They follow the ways of selfishness and cruelty. Come. These humans are following Satan. Let’s try to find some who love my ways.”
“Why, Lord? Why would they be so cruel?” Tom asked again. “How could Satan be so hateful that he would encourage these things? I remember when he was different.”
“It’s hard to understand,” agreed El. “You know the humans all belong to Satan. I guess he found a way to train them to do evil. It’s as if Satan takes these humans straight from the womb where I would talk with them and mold them. He teaches them selfishness and rewards them by stimulating their pleasure centers – sort of like, giving them candy. After a while, they just do wrong because they like it. Then, later, they do it out of habit. Truth is I do not understand why these creatures love such evil, but they do.”
“It is like the weeds: pretty for a while, then all prickly,” suggested Tom.
“Yes, it entices for a while, then scratches and entangles its victims. Real rewards come from My Father,” continued El, “but like Adam, they can’t seem to wait. They would rather have temporary pleasure and the death that comes with it than the joy I give for all time. They harden their hearts against me – and everything I love. They don’t even know it.”
With that, the two walked back into the jungle.
“Is this what emotional pain feels like?” Tom asked. “How can the humans stand it?”
“They say they get used to it,” El replied. “But I think they become hardened. Some withdraw into silence and live a life alone; others lash out becoming cruel themselves: acting out the pain they experienced. Still others go into depression or cover their pain with drugs or alcohol. Some get physically sick. They all react differently. Most do not realize what they are doing. We’ve walked a long way, Tom, and we’re dehydrated. Drink some water. Our reports indicate things will get worse.”
The clip was over. The red light came back on the camera.
“This is the first look at humans many of our viewers have had,” said Nakar. “Can you tell us more Tom?”
“I had forgotten how terrible it was.” Tom said quietly. “The feeling of unjustified rejection is indescribable. Even El’s touch didn’t help. I just wanted to leave that place and cry. Fortunately, we didn’t see any more humans for quite a while.
