2 Corinthians 7:8-10
Amplified Bible (AMP)
8 For even though I did grieve you with my letter, I do not regret [it now], though I did regret it; for I see that that letter did pain you, though only for a little while;
9 Yet I am glad now, not because you were pained, but because you were pained into repentance [and so turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that in nothing you might suffer loss through us or harm for what we did.
10 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief (the hopeless sorrow that is characteristic of the pagan world) is deadly [breeding and ending in death].
Chapter 7, Everlasting Life, is where we begin to come to recognize the underpinnings of White's philosophical construct. While Black wonderfully describes an everlasting life as one that is lived to the full as we would readily recognize, White sees more of the same miserable, inane, doldrums that has brought him to where he has now come to be. Praise be to God that we are to walk in the everlastingness that Black so proclaims rather than the logically deduced state of misery that White would foresee.
John 10:9-11
Amplified Bible (AMP)
9 I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture.
10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
11 I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.
In chapter 12, Is That Ok?, the sun rising on this new day finds that Black has failed to prevent White from leaving and seemingly changing his mind about his very terminal solution. Black even briefly lashes out at God for not giving him the words to win the debate and maybe even White's soul. How often have we played the role that Black has, knowing that we've heard his voice, kept his word, and yet, not seen the outcome as we thought that it should have been?
John 4:37-39
Amplified Bible (AMP)
37 For in this the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps.
38 I sent you to reap a crop for which you have not toiled. Other men have labored and you have stepped in to reap the results of their work.
The acting and directing are terrific. Couldn't be better. The writing is good enough to make it worth reading the play by itself.
In the same way that a really good "sports movie" can be deeply moving to people who aren't exactly sports fans, this movie will be deeply moving to people who aren't necessarily into thinking about God, death, or the afterlife.
If you're wondering whether or not to watch, rent, or buy this movie; do it. It's worth it.