A Shack Made in Heaven

For school, I had to read a short story by Henry Van Dyke called "The Mansion."

It told of a wealthy businessman named John Weightman, who was best known as a philanthropist and almost "righteous" man, always following the Bible and doing good to others. Though he was wealthy, he lived in a regular house and gave most of his wealth to organizations and churches. He was revered and admired by all. However, he had a discontented son named Harold, whom he had plans for; however, Harold, though he respected his father completely, wanted to travel and take a different path from what his father wanted. On the night of Christmas Eve, he asked his father for three or four thousand dollars to help a sick friend from college who had a wife and baby to take care of, but his father refused, saying that he would never get anything from helping his friend, probably only a mere letter of thanks. Unhappy with his father's answer, he left and went to bed, deciding to make his own choices for his life.

John Weightman felt troubled as he had never felt before. He opened his Bible at a random place and found the verse, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust do corrupt and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Suddenly, John felt his body become weak and slipped away.

When he awoke, he found himself in a beautiful place and meeting people who have died years ago. Filled with excitement, he instantly knew where he was. Among the people he had met were the poor, the widowed, the blue-collar workers, and the formerly crippled or sick. Soon, a Guide came told them that their mansions were ready. Almost every person in the eager group had been taken to their mansion, leaving John the last one. Finally, it was time for the Keeper of the Gate to take John to his mansion. They traveled far out of the city, many miles away from the others. After seeing them, John was confident that his reward would be much greater. Yet to his surprise, the Keeper of the Gate took him to nothing but a rusty shack made of scrap material, sitting in an open field. Confusioned, John enumerated all that he had done on earth. He had kept God's commandments, served at his church, and most of all, given to the poor. Because the Keeper of the Gate told him that he had already been rewarded on earth, he did not need another reward in Heaven. With bitter disappointment, John asked what he could have done better on earth, what really counted in Heaven? With that, the Keeper of the Gate replied:

"Only that which is truly given. Only that good which is done for the love of doing it. Only those plans in which the welfare of others is the master thought. Only those labors in which the sacrifice is greater than the reward. Only those gifts in which the giver forgets himself."

Gradually, John began to feel colder. Then he awoke, to find himself back in his home. He rushed up to his son's room and wrote a check for his friend.

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I don't want to do so much to find that it meant nothing. Righteousness is filthy rags. Giving for receiving is a shack. Check your heart as I check mine.