Author: Wick

It’s from the Friendly Atheist blog, although written by Richard Wade, and not the man who sold his soul on E-bay.

Basically, it’s an atheist wondering why Christians don’t make more of a fuss about the people who claim to be Christian, but are actually doing/saying things that are WAY off base from the message of Jesus Christ.

He says this to Christians:

So let’s say there’s this giant wall. As big as the eye can see. Stretching in all ways on every direction. On one side, there is this crazy active, churning, flowing, transformational water. On the other side, a world made for water, but drying out. It’s changing as it dries. Not for the better.

Something happens. The wall is transformed. It’s thinner than it once was. It threatens to rip right in half, and let loose the water found behind it. But it must remain for now.

There becomes a hole in the wall, coming from the other side. As the trickle of water squirts through the hole, it threatens the dryness that has become so familiar to the world. Some embrace it, and experience what it offers. Others run from it, protect themselves from it, pretend it’s not what it seems.

Over time, some realize they can become a hole. But to become a hole is a strange thing. You give up whatever dried out identity you have built around yourself. It’s difficult to do. Some choose not to, finding one of a list of growing excuses. But there are some to still do, pressing themselves into the thin veil so hard that they burst through the other side, only to be blown back towards the world by the force of the rushing water…but remaining there as a hole.

There are places in the wall where trickles are running through. A lone small hole, in the midst of a large area of the wall. Almost like a dollar store squirt gun permanently mounted and squirting from the wall. The dry world soaks up all it can in these areas.

There are other areas. A hose has been run, from the dry land, duct taped to the wall, and spouting out back onto the dry land. From a distance, it seems water is flowing from beyond the wall. But coming closer, you realize it’s the same, dry-sourced stuff that exists everywhere already. But many gather anyways. After all, it’s still wet, right?

Then there are other areas. Areas where the holes are so close together. Where the holes seem to come together as one GIANT hole, and water is POURING through these areas, making contact with the world and transforming what once was dryness back into what it was created to be. Alive. Through the water.

Someday, the holes believe, the thin layer separating the churning waters from the land that is drying out will be removed completely. Not because of the holes themselves, but it certainly is in the same direction as they’ve been existing. They look forward to that day. They try to get others to join them in opening the wall.

Not so that they can “become holes” too.

But so that the water can get through and transform the world.

(I know the analogy falls short if you take it far in any direction, or even short in some. But I think it expresses something.)

So a week or so ago, I talked about the need for a new approach in Evangelism. In talking with a few who are reading NT Wright’s book “Surprised by Hope” right now, it came up how things could benefit from a change in regards to how we teach this all to our children. A new story or metaphor or something…

On one hand, I recognize that if my daughter latches onto Jesus because she’s afraid of living forever without God (or me, even), it’s not a horrible thing. If she decides to “give her life” to Jesus, because of the sacrifice God made when He allowed His Son to die for us, it’s not a horrible thing. If she prays a prayer that says something like “Jesus come into my heart”, or “I believe Jesus died for me”, it’s definitely not a horrible thing.

But it’s not the main point.

It’s significant ONLY as it leads to us being made able to participate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and being a part of God’s making all things new.

But almost ALL of our efforts are found in pushing the “Jesus died for you, so you owe Him something”, or “You don’t want to burn forever, do you?” methods. We tell our children the story of Jesus (or Veggietale version, or colored book/bracelet, or Romans road), and REALLY REALLY want them to understand/believe that Jesus died for them. We want them to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer“, and the younger they can say those words…the better, right? Then with a few resources we have left over, we help make them good people and teach how to get along with others, and call it discipleship.

We began to wonder how the Gospel message might be presented in a way that truly captures what Christ was talking about, even to children? Then looking at scriptures, it appears there is. Christ even spoke them.