WHILE YOU WERE LIVING

   There you are again, sitting in the place where you have been sitting for forty years.
   There you are again, listening to the same dogmas and doctrines you learned as a toddler.
   There you are again, participating in the same rites and rituals you learned as a toddler.
   There you are again, standing when you are told to stand, kneeling when you are told to kneel, praying when you are told to pray, and shaking hands with others when you are told to shake hands, just as you have been doing since the days when you were a toddler.
   There you are again, leaving the building and dragging your religion with you, like a ball at the end of a chain, which you have been doing since the days when you were a toddler.
   Nothing has changed, has it? 
   Nothing is new, nothing is different since the days when you were a toddler, right?
   More than anything else, you want others to believe that you are the you that you want them to believe that you are.  You have wanted this since the days when you were a toddler because you were trained to believe that you are the you that you want others to believe that you are.  You want others to know that you are devoutly religious, that you are righteous among people, and that you are not like the sinners that do not know the way that you know. 
   Therefore, when you go out of your home and in public places, you do not go forth to see others, but rather to be seen.  When you go shopping, there you are.  When you drive your car, there you are. When you play golf or bingo, there you are.  And when you do your good deeds for others, you want them to know the good person you are.
   Your parents are proud of you because you are the heir to the family tradition, the family religion.
   You are also proud because you have trained your children to be the future heirs to the family tradition, the family religion.
   You have been trained to believe that baby Jesus was born to a virgin in Bethlehem, right?
   You have been trained to believe that Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilate and arose on the third day, right?
   You have been trained to believe that Jesus was born on December 25th, right?
   You have been trained to believe that Jesus was crucified on Friday, right?
   You have been trained to believe that the Christian Sabbath day is on Sunday, not on Saturday, right?
   You have been trained to believe that Christians should eat fish on Fridays, right?
   You have been trained to believe that a man of the earth has the power to forgive sins, right?
   You have been trained to believe that water baptism is sufficient for the cleansing of sins, right?
   You have been trained to believe that you are on your way to heaven because of your acceptance of your religious dogmas and doctrines, rites and rituals, right?
   In all of your training, however, have you been taught to believe that Jesus is coming again?  Probably not.
   In all of your training, were you ever encouraged to read the Holy Bible?  Probably not.
   These things are written today because, just moments ago:  you died.  Now what?  What do you believe now?  You are still alive, but where are you?
   While you were living, Jesus said,
      Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
   And again,
      Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 
   Jesus said, a man cannot see nor can he enter the kingdom of God unless he has been born again.
   While you were living, what were you trained to believe?
   While you were living, the Holy Spirit revealed to your mind that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world, but instead of kneeling to Jesus in confession and asking forgiveness of your sin, you denied Him and chose to cling to your religion.  In so doing, you also trained your children to follow you.