Day 102 - Happy in Darkness, Hoping for Fire Insurance.

I met a friend at Starbucks this evening to prepare for an evangelism and apologetics training class we will be teaching at Tulsa Bible Church. I arrived early and ordered a latte. I struck up a conversation with the two employees working there, Dan and Emily.

I handed them both a tract and asked them if they had received one before. Dan said he knows the drill, because his dad is a Baptist pastor in Virginia, and Dan was the bible quiz champ. But Dan abandoned the faith because he had seen it's "evil underbelly." He had seen too much and had been turned off by people claiming to be Christians but did things that hurt him and others. Dan said he enjoys his current life of waywardness. He says he's happier now than ever.

I asked if he remembered the story of the rich young man who came to Jesus and asked him how he could inherit eternal life. He remembered the story but did not recall that the first thing Jesus said to the young man was, "why do you call me good? there is none good but God." We talked about how the law shows us how desperately wicked we all are, including Christians who unfortunately continue to do evil and hurt each other despite our best intentions. We talked about how our wickedness only proves the bible true and how badly we do need a savior like Jesus.

I urged him not to risk his eternal destiny, because of the faults of others. He then said he has "fire insurance," because he had "received" Jesus as savior when he was a child. I asked if it were possible to live life on the broad way that leads to destruction and expect to inherit life that comes only from turning back to following the giver of life on the narrow way. He didn't respond. Just shook his head as if to say, "I don't know."

Other customers came, so we ended our conversation. Later, I urged him to think about our conversation and seriously consider the path he's on.

Jesus said many will call him "Lord, Lord," but He will say "depart from me, you worker of iniquity (Matt. 7)." It is a very risky thing to willfully live in iniquity and hope in "fire insurance" that can't be found anywhere in scripture. John the Baptist urged those who came to him to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance (Matt. 3). Paul urged his hearers to "examine themselves to make sure they're in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Examine yourself. Make sure you're in the faith, following Jesus in truth and sincerity on the narrow way.