Talk Back 31
You Get to Choose
by Jason Irish
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To the Gentleman who wrote Meditation #40:
jesus made some bold claims as to whom he was. no matter who you are, you have to have some sort of strong opinion about him. because his claims are either true or false.
if he really is the only way to find god and eternal life, he is the best thing we'll ever find. and if his claims aren't true, then you have to consider him incredibly evil (for pointing needy people in the wrong direction) or just plain dumb (for saying things he had no clue about).
it's like the old burning building analogy. assume we're all in a burning building, trying to find the way out. it's only a matter of time before we die of smoke inhalation, flames, being trampled on by the other people, or something else.
now some people come up and tell you there is only one way out, and they tell you exactly where it is. if their claim about the exit is true, they are messengers with very good news. and you owe them your life. they have shown you the only way to save yourself.
however, if their claims about the exit aren't true, they are either evil spirited or ignorant. evil spirited in the sense of giving a dying man the promise of life where there is none. it's wrong to say there is an exit somewhere there isn't. by the time the person gets there and discovers there is no door, it might be too late.
or they might just be ignorant. maybe all their friends told them there was an exit "over there" but they never checked it out for themselves to see if it was true. they just trusted their friends. in the end, it might cost them their life, and the lives of those they've pointed there. ignorance has a price.
so you see it's similar with jesus. either he is everything or he is nothing. either he has saved our lives from the power of a sure death or he is a liar. but we have to be on one side or the other. for him or against him. you get to choose.