HEAVEN AND HELL

There is an illustrated story depicting feasts in heaven and hell. The same delicious pudding is served in both the places. It is stored in large tanks and each person has spoons with long handles tightly tied to their hands. Their hands cannot be bent.
The inmates of hell were trying to feed themselves but could not bring the spoons to their mouths, as the handles of the spoons were very long. They tried again and again but were left hungry and angry forever.
In heaven, the arrangement for dinner was similar but the inmates could eat easily as each one used his spoon to feed the nearest neighbour. Spirit of love and willingness to share are heavenly virtues. The story shows that selfishness was preventing the souls in hell from having a share of the pudding.
There is a story about a selfish person who used to recite the following prayer:
"God, bless me and my wife;
My son John and his wife;
US FOUR—AND NO MORE!"

Jesus taught us, "My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you. The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them." {John 15:12,13}.

By Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.

This is story No.89 in this site. Please click ‘older posts’ at bottom of page to read previous stories.