Once there was an owner of a football/soccer team. The owner really liked football and was very closely involved with the team. The owner also had a favorite player, Fabio. Not only was the young man Fabio the best player on the team, but he also was a really good person, and would spend much of the money and time he had helping other people. To watch Fabio play football was to see someone special doing amazing things with the football! And, by the way, Fabio also had the most assists on the team and was a selfless player.
The owner had three sons, all of which he loved very much. One son, Mike, really loved his dad and what his dad cared deeply about, in this case soccer or football. He would help his dad in every way possible with managing the team. Since Mike, like his dad, also really liked football/soccer, he would live to see 'his team' play the next game. It was not a surprise the Fabio was also Mike's favorite player. He had tee-shirts with Fabio's name and had all the magazine articles ever written about Fabio, as well as videos of every game he ever played in. Every time Fabio played a game, Mike would do whatever it took to be at that game. Mike's dream would be to be on the field with Fabio during a championship match.
Mike's dad, the owner, very much appreciated his son Mike's interest in the family business of his football team. He saw his son's efforts to please him and serve the team and for that he was deeply grateful. The dad wanted to reward Mike for this, so he planned on getting Mike some referee training so Mike could referee a game that Fabio was playing in, so Mike to be as close to Fabio as possible.
As a matter of standard practice, the owner would buy his three son's tickets to the game as close to the action as possible - usually right at midfield on the first row next to the field. As a result, Mike could really experience what he loved in a very full way, or as full a way as possible without being on the pitch.
The second Son, Robert, loved his dad to some degree, but Robert loved himself more, and didn't care for football/soccer. He didn't really care about what his dad cared about and did not look to help his dad with 'the business' - he would only help when he believed he had to in order to get what he wanted from his dad. Robert would try and find an excuse to not watch the games of his dad's team. When he could not find a good excuse, he would sit way back in the stadium, as far away from the team and the star player as possible, so he could play with his cell phone instead of watch the game. In short, Robert would do as little as possible to still receive money and other things he wanted from his dad.
The third son, Malcolm, cared so little for his dad, he didn't bother with trying to pretend he loved his dad nor care about what his dad cared about. Malcolm would regularly use his dad's power to hurt and abuse other people. His father, being a gracious man, would still buy Malcolm tickets to every game the team played in the hope that one day, Malcolm would care about what he cared about. Malcolm would receive the tickets but would just throw them away since he had no desire to watch his dad's football team play.
So it is with what we do with our Father, His Son, and the greatest command He gave...
Those who love the Father (the football team owner) and the Father's Son (Fabio) [like Mike], will have the best experience when they leave their bodies and go to be with the Father. These will be nearer the One whom they love, and their favorite 'player', the Father's Son. These will have the greatest capacity to experience the joy and love of their Father in His presence.
Those who just do the minimum that they believe is required (like Robert), will receive little, for they loved little. If they make it at all, they will have little joy and will experience things in a frustratingly fuzzy manner...just as if they were sitting way back in the stadium and a fog covered the pitch.
Those who reject their Father's love - who refuse to love him back (like Malcolm) - will experience justice based on their choices and a perfect standard upon which their choices and subsequent words and behavior will be judged. They choose to ignore and be away from the Father who loves them, and since they did not believe Him when He said, "Come to Me to have Life", they forfeit the Life He offered and send themselves to justice and then destruction. It would not be right for anyone to force another person to be with them if the other person did not want to be with them, so the Father forces no one to be with Him. Furthermore, the Creator of our spirit provided our existence in the first place and everything good that we experienced was enabled by Him...our capacity for happiness and joy and love HE GAVE US...so, not only does He not owe us anything, He still offers us Life everlasting until the moment we die, even if most of what we did with the life He gave us was selfish and thus neglectful, hurtful and destructive to others.
How about YOU, dear reader? Do you think doing some rituals, and having some God-knowledge, and singing some songs really amounts to, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength"? Do you really believe you are significantly different than Robert or Malcolm? There are so many who are self-deceived thinking that playing some religious game of 'going to church' and singing some songs and saying some prayers amounts to actually loving their Father. So many will be filled with anger and grief when they see what they tried to substitute for actual faith in, and love for, their Father and His appointed Leader...
Why not turn away from the life of darkness or hopelessness you labor under, and instead love your Father back! Why not be like Mike and love your Father back and care about the things He cares about, like what is true and right and love? Why not love the Son of Man - Joshua of Nazareth - just as much or more than YOUR version of Fabio?
And them come, join the Peaceful Revolution!