seal oil. It smelled like home. The old man took a seat in the back row and waited. He was glad for the warmth, for the light, and for the company. He had known these people all his life, their fathers and mothers—and their parents.
Minutes later, the priest approached the altar cradling a Bible in his hands and the room became as quiet as the sea. He looked around the room, smiling at the many faces, before opening the book and reading a passage aloud, softly at first.
For a long time the priest spoke about how sinners go to Hell, consumed eternally in a seething Lake of Fire, forever suffering for their sins.
“For all fall short of the Glory of God!” the priest shouted across the room, looking at the anxious faces staring back at him. “All are sinners!”
The priest declared how God was the Light, and how everlasting life came only through Him. Andrew looked out a window, saw the frozen world outside, lightless. When the service was over and the pews emptied, he remained sitting in the back row, his head hanging in the palms of his hands.
The priest came alongside.
“Why do you linger, Andrew? The service is over.”
“Father,” the old man asked, still looking to his hands. “If you had not told us about God and sin, would we go to Hell?”
The priest smiled softly, placed a hand on his shoulder.
“No, my son. The Lord does not punish those who do not know him.”
“Then,” said the old man, raising his tired, gray eyes, “why have you told us?”
Later, the old man shuffled back to his small house, passing other small houses, the snowy yards littered with old caribou antlers, empty and rusted fuel barrels, and broken down snowmobiles and boat motors. He lit the lamp and checked the heater. It was almost out of fuel. Even the lamp was near empty, the small yellow flame flickering. Andrew sat alone at his small table, his hands clasped, his eyes closed. He prayed for his people. He prayed for forgiveness. Most importantly, he prayed for understanding.
That night, as the old man slept, the heater ran out of fuel. The lamp oil ran out. Outside the small house, cold and darkness gathered. Even stars stopped burning.
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