Mark woke up refreshed – he’d just had the most restful sleep in his entire life. And no wonder – this was the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept in. Getting up, he realized he must be in a Bed and Breakfast, one of those on Cape Cod. Except that he didn’t know where he was exactly or how he got there. Strangely, though confused, he didn’t feel threatened or doubt his sanity. Hearing some activity from the floor below and the rich aroma of a fresh breakfast, he took a quick shower, dressed and went downstairs.

A mature woman greeted him “I know you must feel confused and have a lot of questions. I’ll answer those, but first, what would you like for breakfast? I can get you just about anything you’d like.” Mark made his request and soon waffles, maple syrup, sausage and orange juice were before him.

“Isn’t this just a wonderful, heavenly day?” asked the woman. Mark agreed, and then she said: “that’s because this is heaven! No, you didn’t die - you still have a long life before you. Oh, look what I’ve done! Now you have even more questions!

“Your soul has been recalled and is undergoing some maintenance, you’ll spend a few ‘days’ here. You can relax, enjoy walking on the beach, catch up on some reading, etc. (but we don’t have newspapers!)

“There are no ‘bugs’ or faults in your soul, just some improvements that need to be ‘installed.’ You’ll be back on Earth in no time.” Over the next hour she described how soul upgrades happen rarely, only twice before. This upgrade was humorously referred to as the ‘MARK III.’ The upgrades were made with as little disruption as possible, so that the souls could enjoy a full life as a human, before finally experiencing eternal life. She explained to Mark how his ‘absence’ would be handled for his friends and loved ones. Space prohibits including those details here.

There would be some disruptions. When he returned to Earth as a human being he would start over as a baby.  There was no guarantee that his soul would return to his original ‘self.’ A lot could change – his name, gender, birthplace, parents, race, etc. but his soul would be essentially the same (with the ‘upgrades’).

Mark enjoyed a walk in the garden and looking out over the ocean. He needed the rest to take in everything he’d heard from breakfast. What would it be like to be born as someone else? He understood that this was a great gift – an opportunity for him to use wisely. But still, he worried about what his life might be like. He had lived a comfortable life, with good health, a loving family, a good education and a faith that had supported him in difficult times. He was taking a chance to go through life a second time.  Mark knew that some 25,000 children die each day from preventable causes. What if he was born with that situation? Still, he was excited about the prospect of a second life.

That afternoon, a visitor came to the house to talk with Mark. The visitor, dressed in business casual, was carrying a briefcase. He and Mark sat down to talk in the parlor. [This part is the reason for the parable.]

The gentleman, call him ‘Peter,’ explained that he was there to give Mark the option of buying true ‘life insurance.’

“As your host explained, you’ll be starting over again on Earth as a newborn baby. Since God loves all people, regardless of race, gender, class, ethnicity, etc., you might be born as anyone. God is also aware that once people are born, however, that they may be loved differently, have different health, different opportunities, different wealth and different faith. With this insurance, we try to even up these accidents of life. Our ‘life insurance’ is different from the similarly named product sold on Earth. Instead of paying off when you die, this policy pays off during your life.

“You can, of course, decline our ‘life insurance’. If you decline, you will be born into a randomly chosen family and live your life. You will have to face the hazards and rewards of living on your own and with the friends and supporters you are able to gather.

“With insurance:

•  If you are born into circumstances where you would not receive enough love, then you would discover that others will come into your life to love you.
  
• If you are born with or develop health problems, people will come into your life to provide a cure or at least to ease your suffering and pain.
  
•  If you are born with a diminished opportunity for education, people will come into your life to offer their wisdom and teach you.
  
•  If you are born into a poor family, people will come into your life to provide opportunities and funds to assist you out of poverty.
  
•  If you are born with no one to guide your faith, then people will come into your life to guide you.

“This ‘life  insurance’ is a contract and comes at a cost. Of course you don’t have the wherewithal now to purchase this policy. Even with all the wealth in your life until now, you would not have enough to pay for it. Your wealth is in the wrong currency. For that matter, I’m not trying to ‘sell’ you ‘life insurance,’  just offering it to you.

“But you can buy ‘life insurance’. You need to pay for the insurance ‘in kind.”’

• If your life overflows with love from others, you are expected to love the unloved in return.
•  If you are blessed with a healthy life, you are expected to help those who are sick.
• If you learn with the help of great teachers, you are expected to teach others.  
• If you are rewarded with worldly goods, you are expected to be generous to others.
• If you have faith, you are expected to guide others in their faith.

“The ‘life insurance’ contract is with yourself, not between you and me, between you and a company or between you and God – you are making a promise with yourself. It is you who ‘expects’ to be generous towards others if life has been generous towards you.

You also have obligations if life is not generous towards you.  How you respond to hardship is always your own choice. You can be miserable and bitter or you can choose to take opportunities available to you. You can be thankful for gifts – of medicine, education and work. Even if you have little, you can be generous to others – of your time, energy and spirit.

“Be aware that taking ‘life insurance’ affects your prospects of spending eternity in heaven. It is a contract – a promise, albeit to yourself. God takes promises seriously and expects people to live up to them.

“If you want the insurance, the bar is raised for getting into heaven. You may be born into a fine, supportive family and lead an enviable life. Your love of others and generosity might be highly acclaimed and your life honored after you die. Your faith and religious life are held up as a model for others. Without the insurance, you might well ‘earn’ your eternal reward in heaven.

“But by buying the insurance policy, you’ve made a promise to be more generous. To whom much has been given, much will be required – ‘earning’ eternal life in heaven requires  giving the extra measure. It’s problematical as to whether even exemplary faith and works are sufficient to get into heaven without giving that extra measure. The cost of receiving help from others, if you need it, is to provide extra help to others when they need it.

“To make the decision even more difficult, you will not remember your previous life (except through some déjà vu flashes) and you will not remember this encounter. You will need to decide whether to buy ‘life insurance’ or not based only on your character, your soul.”

[The parable ends…]

So, what would you do – promise ‘life insurance’ for yourself or not?