If God really spoke to us today, what would he say? It’s a question for either prophets or heretics, and neither has a good fate before them. Unless they wind up on teevee – that washes away all the sins apparently. But this question came to my mind on a sleepless night rendered suddenly still after a bumpy ride through the earthly wake left behind by my brother’s passing. If you know Mark Twain’s “Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven” this won’t seem so strange. So forgive my heresy.

Where do I begin?

I suppose we have to start at the very beginning in the small plot of land you were put down in. That whole story about the serpent and the tree of knowledge – I should have known you would hide your shame. That’s all just a cover story. I kicked you out because you trashed the place! It wasn’t the search for knowledge that made me angry, it was your laziness and selfishness.

And that set the tone for how many years? I’m not a “vengeful God”, I just got so angry at you kids! You are my kids, you know, all of you. Made in my image, so I understand some of this. When you love each other and take care of the world I can see what you were made of and I am very happy. But you kids drive me crazy sometimes! If only you would listen to what I’m telling you!

I mean, when I say a land is yours forever, I don’t mean it’s only yours. Sharing should teach you love, not hate. Don’t you see from all I’ve done that I love you?

And all those laws, the 613 of them. Yes, that’s how many there are, not just 10. I had to put down some kind of rules for living in my house. If you had any common sense you wouldn’t need all that, but no. Just a little compassion and love would go a long way. I had to teach it to you somehow.

Again, if you just listened! One man listened to what I actually had to say and lived his life by it well enough to develop a following. Yes, Jesus was my son, but you are all my children! That was the point! He set a really great example for the rest of you. What did you do with it? Focus on the suffering, from what I see.

It was always about the suffering and how that redeems you. You want redemption? Yes, let’s focus on that suffering for a while. Who did that? It wasn’t me, or even in my name. And don’t blame the Jews or the Romans – the point is that you, my creation, did all that! You are the ones who created all the suffering for Jesus and the rest of the world around you.

I have to go back to the beginning again. Don’t you realize you are children of paradise? Don’t you see that paradise is all around you? The only reason you don’t experience it is that you’re still trashing everything like a bunch of spoiled rotten kids. I’ve tried to not spoil you and get you to figure it out, but … oh, the selfishness.

And you don’t listen or even look around you long enough to understand how good you have it. Ungrateful, that’s the problem, too.

Look, you’ve gotten to the point where you are starting to understand the intricacies of creation and how it was put together. Yes, I’m proud of that. Your pride comes from the fact that you are my children, made in my image. I can own up to that. But look at creation and tell me it isn’t wonderful!

Dr. George Washington Carver listened to me, too. He said that “Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough.” He understood creation far better than anyone, he knew it was all about love. Then there’s the expression of love, the details. Yes, as Michelangelo saw, I am in the details.

The other thing you’ve seen recently is how this beautiful planet looks to me, from a distance. The rolling, roiling blue green ball so full of creation! That should have changed you as much as the up close look at how it’s all put together. I see a lot of progress, but … the suffering continues on.

I’ve spoken to you all in so many ways. I’ve told every culture and every language some piece of The Way that you need to follow. Each one got what they could handle at the time, spoken clearly in language and customs they could understand. With just a little bit of love and compassion you’d get to know each other and learn my message to all of you.

It’s all there, plain and simple. All of you know that killing is wrong, all of you know what love is. Different ways of expressing it and living it only make it more real. If only you got to know all of them you’d really see creation as I do. Maybe then you’d listen to what I have to say.

But I’m not one for long speeches. You’re starting to understand, and that’s good. You’re growing up. You’re growing up together, and that makes you brothers and sisters. Can’t you see how powerful that is? Just love each other and pay attention to the simple fact that you are children of paradise. It’s all around you every moment of your lives.

I can’t make it any simpler. Soon you will finally grow up and acquire real wisdom. You have it in you as my children, I know you do. But wisdom starts with love and later expands with curiosity – that’s the yin and yang of it. Maybe that’s how the message got so garbled when you were kicked out of the garden.

OK, I shouldn’t get so angry with you. I’ve been patient lately because I know what you’re made of even better than you. But you’re growing up and in time you’ll see creation the way I do. It’ll change you, and it’ll change our relationship. I can’t wait for that day. It’ll be heavenly – quite literally heavenly.