The Books: The Great Interview

By Oscar L. Avant

This story is about you and me and the tension between now and the future. Shall I deny myself at present to gain eternity in the future, or do I live this moment to the fullest? Shall I release the bird in hand for a future promise? Am I not free to live by my own rules? These are universal issues that each of us wrestles with in different ways.

In this story, Fred is a self-made man wrestling with the everyday issues of living. He has his own code of what a decent life should look like. He, however, has no control over the circumstances of his life. Find out what happens when the familiar is intercepted by a greater reality.

The lifelong question is, when we die do we cease to be cognitive or is our next experience a continuum of our present cognition? If, in our next experience, the things that are said and done now are remembered do they have consequences?

Fred will discover answers to these questions. This story is his story. Read and enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490876030

Oscar L. Avant

Oscar L. Avant is a pastor, mentor, poet, former US Marine, and a retired engineer with several patents. He and his wife, Diana, have been married fifty-three years and provide Christian counseling. They live in Ashton, Maryland, and have two married adult children.

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Copyright © 2015 Oscar L. Avant.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a novel based on the centrality of love and the promise of a future life from the Scriptures. While the events depicted may strike universal chords, they are only excerpts from an eternal future where we each must come to terms with our reward for decisions made and things said and done in this life. When this present age is done, we will face an eternity where our portion is in accordance with decisions made and actions taken in our present lives.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7604-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7605-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7603-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905502

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/14/2015

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1

The Cares of Life

Hard Times (American Style)

Waiting for a Job

Fred at the Bus Stop

The Vision

The Walk to Eternity

Chapter 2

The New Reality

Reality Check

The Pending Interview

The Question of Books

The Books and the Interview

Akhee Explains the Upcoming Interview

All Things Judged by the Standard of the Law

Chapter 3

All Books

The Lamb’s Book of Life

The Book of Life

The Books

Fred’s Diminishing Hope

Chapter 4

The Hall Of Justice

The View from the Left Foyer

The Court

The Judgment of the Saints

The Account of Life

The Judgment of God

The Exit Corridors

Chapter 5

The Prepared Places

The Father’s House

The Heavens and Earth

Lake of Eternal Fire

Chapter 6

The Righteous Judge

The Judgment of Mankind

Chapter 7

The Throne of Judgment

The Lives of Humankind (The Open Books)

The Righteous Man

The Rich Man

The Philanthropist

The Atheist

The Preacher

The Politician

The Postmodern Man

People Just Like Me

Fred before the Throne

Chapter 8

Exiting the Hall of Judgment

Gate One

Gate Two

Gate Three

Gate Four

Gate Five (Temptation)

Chapter 9

The Bride’s Portal (Gate Six)

Chapter 10

The Hospital

Fred’s Doubts

Chapter 11

Fred Returns Home

Fred’s Testimony

A Changed Life

Discouragement becomes Encouragement

Unbelief

Hardened Hearts

Writing Your Book

I dedicate this book to my grandson, Corbin, his mom, Bridgette, his dad, Richard, Uncle Michael, Aunt Sandy, and his lovely Grandmama Diana.

This moment is your now. Seize it. Write the book of your life. It will document your past and establish your future. Both depend on this moment.

—Oscar L. Avant

Preface

I first considered writing this book after I experienced a freak accident that severely injured my leg and rendered me immobile for several months. With so much down time on my hands, what was I to do? Having published my first book, God, Mankind, and Eternity, I was impressed to begin this new project to keep me sane during recuperation.

I believe that God uses everything that happens in our lives to work for His purpose when we are yielded to Him. Armed with that belief, I began this book with an evangelistic intent. I wanted to reach the everyday Fred and Amy who are struggling with day-to-day stuff but in Fred’s case, have no inclination to seek spiritual help. In postmodern times we have come to exclusively rely on ourselves, technology, experts, the insurance man, and our medicines as a shield against all misfortunes. But what do these things profit if we have not shielded our souls from the wrath of eternity?

The challenge of this project was to portray a real character who is easy to identify with, having the same struggles as you and me but finding a solution in his spirit. My intent is to present the challenge of the Scriptures in the form of a story to those who have some acquaintance with Scripture and to cause all of us to think about how we live our daily lives.

In this way I believe that both believers and nonbelievers can profit from the experience of the main character, Fred. If, after reading, you are challenged to live a more Christlike life, my goal is accomplished.

I thank my wife, Diana, for her patience with me even when I have books all over the dining room table and its meal time. I am thankful for the influence of godly friends and mentors, especially Pastors Charles and Dotty Schmitt and Pastor Priscilla Hsia. A special shout out to my dear friend and colleague in Christ, Marjorie Miller Wynn for her review and help with my manuscript. And to the excellent staff at WestBow for guiding me through the publishing process.

Thanks to all of you.

Oscar L. Avant

Introduction

Our Human Heritage

You and I are not very different than our neighbors. Oh yes, our fiscal means, physical features, or geographic fortunes may differ, and our language may even sound accented or foreign. But underneath the culture, amenities, and social constructs, we have the same yearnings, emotions, and basic needs. We rejoice when we are happy, mourn when we are sad, laugh when we think something is funny, and cry when we are hurt. If we are cut, we bleed, and our blood is uncannily common. When we are attacked, we become defensive. We need each other’s love.

We label ourselves as American, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Iraqi, Iranian, Brazilian, German, etc., and adhere to our national bonding as though it was deserving of our highest allegiance. We fanatically embrace our philosophical, religious, and political beliefs as the end all of social bonding. We are blinded to the fact that the plight of the soul is common. We are made of a common fabric and are all children of God’s creation. In ways that we don’t fully appreciate, we need each other.

We share a common basket of resources, and our breath is common. If God had chosen, I could have been in your shoes—and you in mine. You and I had nothing to do with that choice. Imagine seeing through my eyes—and I through yours. Can you see the resemblance? In that final day we shall see ourselves in each other and know that we are brothers and sisters.

The life of humankind is both natural and spiritual, and it differs from all other created beings. When God created us, He stooped and breathed into us His Spirit seed. He then gave us a free will to choose to follow the leading of His Spirit and obey Him or to choose otherwise. This was not done for other creatures. We are placed at the apex of creation. All things are created for our good.

Because we are born in the natural and cultivated in things that are physical, we have little sensitivity to things of the spirit. Our education and training only acknowledge what can be validated by the senses. In the wisdom of the world, spiritual things are relegated to ideas and creations of the mind. What a reversal from the time of creation when God (a Spirit) created all that is physical as an image of spiritual reality. It was the spirit world that was real, and physical creation was an image of that reality.

We chose to disobey God, and His Spirit seed left us. But God loved us, and in His appointed time, He gave His Son, Jesus, to die for our redemption from disobedience and sin. The life of Jesus on earth is not myth. It was prophesied hundreds of years before His birth, and His life is documented in the annals of history. He did miracles that only a Messiah could do. He healed lepers, cast out demons, healed a man born blind, and raised a man who had been four days dead. He was crucified and raised from the dead. No other prophet or god can make such a claim. He is the Lamb of God. God then sent His Holy Spirit to mankind as a gift to live within those who would accept