When God revealed himself through Christ not everyone believed. There were those who scorned, mocked – and crucified.
Then there were those who followed.
In his book The Pilgrim’s Regress, C.S. Lewis charts the journey of a man named John, who, upon his journey encounters such characters as Mr. Enlightenment and Miss Reason and Mr. Vertue. He spies an island he wishes to visit but on his search for the island gets distracted, way-laid and seduced.
Even though the technology had not yet arrived, God could have used neon signs and mass text messaging to persuade the masses that following Christ was a good choice to make. He could have shown that while it may be a narrower path, the destination was a richer pasture. He could have talked about the depth and breadth of love in a world where love is what people look like.
But he didn’t.
He gave us a choice. He didn’t even set out the full-set of plans and say ‘now you know every step so you can make a decision’. He asks us to have faith. He asks us to believe. He asks us to confess.
Indeed, the wider paths are seemingly more attractive: there are ladders to climb, important people to meet, things that can be done.
Some saw Christ and heard what he claimed and saw before them a life of following rules, inflexibility and unnececssary commitment and sacrifice. Others saw Christ and heard what he claimed and saw before them a life of forgiveness, redemption, hope, mercy and love.
It’s like the two men who looked through prison bars: one saw mud, the other stars.
