In the Same Room

Recently a friend came to visit, and along with her came her little boy. He is an adorable little boy, full of laughter and love. He is a great kid, and a normal little boy. But, in those teaching moments, discipline and instructing moments, his mom was right there with him. She never told him to not do something from another room, handed out a punishment from another room, but was right there with him instead.

Jesus had spent time correcting the Pharisees. He strongly disciplined them, “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Matthew 23:33). What was he going to do? Condemn them and say forget it, they deserve it? No – instead, he responded by saying “Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers.” It continues into a prophecy that these prophets and wise men and teachers will be killed and crucified by these men, flogging them and pursuing them! The men were warned that they would suffer from the blood of the righteous.


“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing,” (Matthew 23: 37). This was a moment of the parent grieving over the poor choices of wayward and making bad choices children, standing in the same room and disciplining them with hope that they would make a different choice.

Heavenly Spoons

I remember reading somewhere, and I’m sorry to the author for not giving proper APA cited acknowledgement, anyway… I remember reading somewhere about a description of heaven.  The first room that people looked at was hell.  People were sitting around a table loaded with food.  However, their spoons were much too long for them to serve themselves.  Holding the handles, the people tried to reach the food and then turn the spoon so it would be reachable to their own mouths. Food spilled out, leaving the people hungry and miserable.  They mumbled and complained, groused and moaned in their hunger and displeasure. 

Then, the people looked into the second room, that was heaven.  Inside was another table loaded with food and those long long spoons.  However, in this room, the people were working together and feeding each other.  They were content and happy, well fed and nourishing each other.  Words such as please and thank you, oh compliments to the chef were heard ringing out.

In a very simple way, that is a good view of heaven and hell.  Galatians 5 is just one spot of several which tells us about a single and very important command.  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  However, in verses 14 and 15, there is a warning attached. “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” 

In your hands, you hold a long spoon.  Scoop up nourishment for your neighbor and share.