The Land Beyond

By Robert Denison

Four friends embark on three journeys to find the purpose of life. Join them as they travel to the Land of Constructs, the Land of Strongholds, the Land of Death, and The North, where truth and healing are found along the way using the Four Great Truths.
This is the story of a journey God is calling each of us to take. It is nothing new. It’s the story of the Bible. By putting some of that story in allegorical form, it will help explain what Christians believe, and why. There is a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Denison
• Release date: Aug 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370030927

Robert Denison

Bob Denison has been a pastor and has written plays and skits for churches (JesusDrama.org). He currently resides in Charlotte, NC, and spends as much time as possible with his children and grandchildren. He can be reached at [e-mail].

Book preview

Part I: The Journey (the reality of God)

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV

Four friends make a spiritual journey to find the purpose of life in general, and the meaning of their life in particular.

Chapter 1

The Longing and the Pull

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else... Luke 12:31 NLT

There was the Heart. You couldn't see it. You just knew it was a heart, cloaked in blinding golden light. With each beat of the Heart, a wave of gold went throughout Beyond (although that is not what it was called then). Each person could sense the waves, and each was fully alive because they were fully yielded. The beating was constant and fed the people, and they had no fears. They did not need physical food or water. The beating went back out from the people to the Heart, and the people would commune with the Heart, not as a common oneness but as an individual one-on-oneness. Each person knew they were unique and valued by the Heart.

Then the enemy appeared. The people sensed a different pulsing coming not from a heart but from a deceiving evil. Instead of gold he pulsed pale yellow. People were drawn to the Pulsing, for he was easier to sense. They accepted his false life. Gradually they lost the ability to sense the Heart, and they hungered for physical food and physical water. The Age-when-men-get-hungry began. They lost the sense of purpose to their life. They drifted out of Beyond and formed the land of Back. They built towns, forged industry and business and commerce, and filled their lives with whatever meaning they could generate from within themselves and from the Pulsing.

But the Heart was not defeated. At great personal sacrifice and pain, the Heart beat at a different rate. The Pulsing could not match the new beating. This new Beat flowed into Back as the Pull, and those whose longing grew for more from life were pulled into Beyond. There were not many, but an ever-growing number despite the servants of the Pulsing, who were to prevent those in Back from letting their longing become too strong, and to distract and deceive those in Beyond -- to get them to go back…back to Back…back to a living death.

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Glossary:

the PULL: attraction from the Source that pulls people from the Land of Back into the Land of Beyond

the LONGING: yearning for more from life that comes from within each person

the land of BACK: where people spend their life if they don’t long badly enough for more from life

the land of BEYOND: where people embark on a Journey to find the purpose of life

the SENSING: ability within each person in Beyond to detect the Beat and the flows

the BEAT: golden flowing from the Source throughout Beyond for direction and sustenance

the TRUTH FLOW: red stream of truth from the Source

the HEALING FLOW: blue stream of healing from the Source

the SOURCE: the one who knows the purpose of life

the PULSING: false imitator of the Source

FIRST GREAT TRUTH: the Source is always with us

SECOND GREAT TRUTH: the Source is stronger than the Pulsing

THIRD GREAT TRUTH: flow to the need (i.e., with the Source we can help others, even those far away from us physically)

MANFORMS and DARK FORMS: enemy servants of the Pulsing

CONSTRUCT: anything that stops one’s journey

STRONGHOLD: by-product of Constructs that gives the Pulsing the ability to torment people

the JOURNEY: what each person is to embark on to find the purpose of their life

the LIGHTING: increased presence of the Source for those who want it

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You want to quit your job and move someplace? Isabella asked.

No, you don’t understand, Leif replied, frustrated.

He sighed. How to explain the Pull? He received the same reaction from his other two friends, Devan and Kamiko. The four of them were at their favorite coffee shop where they would meet and discuss jobs, girlfriends, boyfriends or the weather. This time was different. Leif tried again.

I became aware of this pulling, this attraction; it was on the inside, not the outside. It was weak at first, more of a fleeting thing. But I’m sure of this: it happened when I longed for more from life.

What more is there? Devan asked.

Where did all this came from? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Leif asked.

I know but I’m not telling.

Ha-ha. Very funny, Devan, Isabella said.

Leif turned to Isabella.

Don’t you want more from life? Haven’t you ever wondered what life is about? We don’t know how we got here and we don’t know what happens to us when we die. There must be a reason. This can’t be an accident.

Leif stopped talking and leaned back in his chair. He realized he had been speaking loudly enough to draw attention from surrounding tables.

I don’t know, Leif, Isabella said. Maybe.

She and Leif had gone on several dates, trying to decide if they wanted to take their relationship to the next level. She looked intently at him. Leif gets this way, she thought. Kamiko could, too. The two of them sometimes fantasized on and on while she rolled her eyes.

The more you want it, the more you’re aware of it, Leif continued, the way you are when you’re in love. You’re drawn to that other person but can’t define why.

Isabella choked on her drink.

Love! Now I know you’re crazy. What do any of us know of love?

She had married after graduating from high school. It hadn’t lasted. Too much, too soon, she realized.

Devan grabbed Kamiko’s hand.

Will you marry me? he kidded.

Get out of here, you nutcase. Kamiko jerked her hand away. She turned back to Leif. I don’t know, but if there is more, I want to know.

Ah! Maybe you should marry Leif, Devan joked.

Kamiko leaned over the table, trying to slug Devan on the arm.

Well, give it some thought, okay? Leif said.

He noticed the way Isabella had looked at him. He knew she wondered what was going on. Leif had fallen in love several times in his twenty-eight years of life, but Isabella was the first one in a long time who stirred those same emotions.

The four of them resumed their normal chit-chatting, but Leif no longer cared. The Pull was way more important, even more than Isabella.

Chapter 2

Into the Land of Beyond

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NLT

After their get-together, Leif went home to unwind from the day’s activities. He turned on the television and stretched out on his sofa. His day had been satisfying. He had made progress on the marketing survey idea he was working on. His boss was pleased.

I wonder how pleased he would be if I added What is the purpose of life? to the survey? Leif chuckled. That’s a good idea.

He thought again of what he had tried to explain to his friends. Being in love is the closest thing to it, he decided. You can’t explain it, but it pulls at you. And you sure find yourself longing.

He sensed it again…drawing him…pulling him. Leif was called a visionary when people wanted to compliment him, or a dreamer if they didn’t. But this was beyond dreaming. He knew he had to respond. More and more he longed. And one day he let his longing reach out yet again. He opened his half-closed eyes. He was in the Land of Beyond.

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Isabella went home and tried to forget the talk of a Pull. What nonsense, she fumed. And I am a no-nonsense gal. You don’t keep up with the amount of paperwork I do if your head is in the clouds.

But Isabella realized deep inside that she longed for more from life. She had broken up with her last boyfriend and it was her fault, she had to admit. To outward appearances her life was good; not perfect, but good. She was confident in herself. She could handle anything life threw at her. She had a decent condo and a decent job. She was falling for Leif. Perhaps that was the problem. She could see herself marrying Leif, having kids, and raising a family and career for years and years.

Is there more? she thought while taking a shower. Feeling a bit foolish, she let her thoughts linger on that possibility. Surprisingly, they caused an excitement in her. She knew she had a choice to pursue this line of thought or not. To suspend her idea of sense and give the non-sense a voice.

Years later she would tell others she had no idea why she chose to pursue it. Some do and some don’t was the best she could come up with. And I did.

The next weeks were a test of her decision. There were days she wanted to forget the whole thing, but she couldn’t deny the attraction was growing. She couldn’t pass it off as nonsense, and Isabella was honest to a fault, especially with herself. The day came when she responded with the single word Okay.

She found herself in Beyond.

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Kamiko left the coffee shop excited. What Leif had said resonated inside her. She paced around in her apartment, her thoughts racing. I don’t care for my life much, anyway. What do I lose by longing for more? Someone close to her had hurt her. The bastard. I will never forgive him. He ruined my life.

She grabbed a broom and began sweeping. Anything to stop her thoughts. Everyone around her thought she was vivacious and fun. If they knew how dead I feel inside, she thought. After several more moments of sweeping, she collapsed in a chair, overwhelmed by the burden she had carried for twenty years. Tears came to her eyes.

The following weeks found her despair growing, but so did her longing. They battled within her. Sometimes she felt less dead amidst her despair. One day when she felt especially hopeless, hope arose in her, which made absolutely no sense. She laughed and sang and danced around the room. She stopped in mid-step. She was in Beyond and Isabella was looking at her. She didn’t look surprised.

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Devan was a different case altogether. He had gone home from the coffee house conflicted. He wanted more from life, but feared venturing outside his comfort zone. Why should I fear wanting more from life? he reasoned. But I am afraid, he had to admit. It was an irrational fear, but real none-the-less.

Devan had many fears. He feared others wouldn’t like him. He feared his work at his job wasn’t good enough. He hid by kidding and teasing his friends; not mean teasing, just being funny so no one would see his fear. He remembered a definition of courage he once heard. Courage is not the absence of fear, but stepping out anyway.

And I’m tired of being afraid.

What’s that, Devan? His mother walked into the room.

Nothing, mom. I was thinking aloud. But I do feel bad having to live here with you and dad.

It wasn’t your fault you were laid off. They laid off half your department.

I know, mom. Hopefully I’ll have a job soon.

You have a home here as long as you want. She kissed him on the cheek as she exited the room.

Thanks, mom.

Great, he thought. Here I am approaching thirty and living with my parents.

Strengthened by wanting more for his life, he began to cautiously let his longing reach out…

Now all three friends were together, on a road, in Beyond.

Is this more what life is supposed to be? asked Isabella. I should be afraid but I’m not.

Devan started laughing. Isabella and Kamiko laughed, too. They were uncertain what the future held, but they couldn’t deny they were also excited. They each knew how the others must have longed for the Pull. They somehow knew one direction of the road led back -- back to the world they had come from; back to the life they had experienced up until now.

Where is Leif? Devan asked.

No doubt already here and ahead of us, Isabella answered. Serves him right. I hope something ate him. Let’s go find him, or his remains.

Without any hesitation, they walked along the road that led forward. Well, Devan had maybe a moment’s hesitation, but buoyed by the resolve of the others, he joined them.

Chapter 3

The Town of Home

Leif looked around in a daze. The last thing he remembered was closing his eyes and focusing on the Pull. Now he found himself on a deserted but well-kept gravel road, though it more resembled a path, he decided. Sun-lit meadows were dotted with trees and flowers. The sun felt good and Leif saw bees around the flowers and