The Dead Truck Driver

[Berserk]

Leonard is a wealthy retired construction baron.  He was distraught because his cousin was dying of cancer and was too depressed to receive visitors.   Leonard wanted to know if I, his pastor, could help.  But when I arrived at Leonard's home, he was out shopping.  I remarked to his wife Helen that it must have been difficult for them to cope with all their recent family tragedies.  I mentioned their son Jeff who had been killed in a private plane crash, together with his wife and two children.  Helen stunned me with her reply, "OH THAT WASN'T A LASTING PROBLEM, BUT LEONARD DOESN'T LIKE TO TALK ABOUT IT."  I was overwhelmed with curiosity.  As Leonard's pastor, I had seen his distress at his wife and brother's illness.  How could the tragic death of his son's family not be a lasting trauma?

I gently broached the subject when I next saw Leonard.  Reluctantly, he told me what happened shortly after the crash.  He had kept this story a secret because he feared being dismissed as a deluded fool.  A day or so after the funeral, Leonard decided to take Jeff's pickup truck to perform some errands. As he reached the highway by his home, he saw a figure emerging from the ditch.  It was his dead son Jeff!  Jeff smiled and asked, "DO YOU MIND IF I DRIVE MY TRUCK ONCE MORE FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE?"  A numb Leonard moved over to the passenger side.  As Jeff drove, he expressed his love and assured Leonard that his wife and children were enjoying their new life on the other side.  Jeff filled his Dad in on his business investments and financial arrangements.  This simplified Leonard's burden in settling Jeff's estate.  Jeff turned off the main highway down a side road.  After about 2 miles, he stopped the truck in front of a large clump of trees and said, "I'M NOT PERMITTED TO GO ANY FURTHER."  Then he said goodbye, walked into the trees, and vanished.

The next day, a still depressed Leonard went for a long walk in the woods behind his property.  Overwhelmed by grief, he sat down on a log and cried.  Just then, he heard someone approach.  It was Jeff's deceased wife Karen: WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?  DIDN'T WE TELL YOU THAT WE WERE ALL OK?  YOU GET BACK IN THE HOUSE AND COMFORT MOM!" Leonard mused, "THIS SECOND ASSURANCE GAVE ME THE STRENGTH TO OVERCOME MY GRIEF."  

His expression looked pained as he gazed at my incredulous expression.  I just couldn't wrap my mind around the sheer "physicality" of Leonard's experience.  I felt so ashamed of my skepticism.  After all, I had badgered him to recount his story and been rather insensitive to his wish for privacy on this matter.  But Leonard's experience was so unlike anything I had ever heard of or experienced.  

Leonard and I had a close reliationship.  He is a kind man of impeccable integrity.  He is an absolutely credible witness.  The more I think about it, the more I realize that his account offers me the most spectacular verification of postmortem survival I have ever encountered.  It rivals Jesus' resurrection appearances in its "physicality."  The Risen Jesus baked and ate fish and allowed himself to be touched by His disciples.  If that is possible, why couldn't a dead man drive a truck?