Came across this
story some time ago – guess it was a kind of parable…
One Sunday, after
leaving church as soon as the “Amen” dropped, three men went out sailing in
Chesapeake Bay as they had done many times before. The fellow who owned the boat
cherished it as a prize possession-it was lovely. He always bragged about it
because it reflected his self-achievements and his self-importance. His boat had
hosted many parties. This particular Sunday, as they were drinking and playing
their music as loud as they could, a storm came up out of no where – one minute
the sun was shining and a gentle breeze blew across the boat; the next minute
the sound of thunder could be heard. In the distance was a warning horn
blowing, but the guys felt they could navigate themselves out of the storm –
after all, they’ve done so before. But the rain came down in buckets;
visibility was increasingly poor. The boat had survived storms before – only
last year the owner spent thousands of dollars to repair damage when the boat
got side-swiped in another storm; had special fog lights added. The rain
continued so heavily that the boat was beginning to fill up. They were sure
that all they had to do was bail out water and head in the direction of the
shore. But then the wind picked up and blew more water onto the boat and made
navigation hard. The men were frantically bailing out the water when a motorboat
comes alongside offering to carry the men safely back to shore. However, sure
of themselves, they tell the person, no, we are trying to save our ship. “We’ll
be fine! This is not our first rodeo!” the owner chuckled. “Plus, we have
prayed.”
Twenty minutes
later, the water in the boat has risen several inches – it’s up to their shins.
Another motorboat a little bit larger than the first comes alongside and its
captain offers to rescue the three men. “No, we’re good” they replied. “We’re
almost at the dock – should reach it in a few minutes.” The captain tells them
again to come on board, saying he’s been sailing these waters for years and
knows how unpredictable these storms can be. The three men insist that they
know what they are doing , plus we have prayed, they said.
Fifteen more
minutes pass; the water has practically submerged the boat. The men could not
dump the water out fast enough. They had chosen at the beginning of their
journey to not put on their life jackets because they were too cumbersome, too
hot, and now the jackets are floating in the bay. A coast guard vessel comes
alongside and tells the men to abandon ship and come on board. One of the men
clings onto the ladder and climbs up to safety, urging the others to follow, but
the other two are expecting God to perform a miraculous rescue because they
prayed.
Several minutes
later the boat capsizes and the two men eventually drown. They suddenly find themselves
in the presence of Jesus. They are quick to ask and demand an answer: “Jesus!
we prayed and prayed but you didn’t come!” Jesus is quiet. They angrily ask, “Jesus
why didn’t you save us? We prayed over and over and cried out to you! You’re
Jesus - you were supposed to save us! ” Jesus looks at them. Their faces are
stern and their attitudes are filled with arrogant pride. Jesus finally says,
“I heard your cries for help. I sent three boats to pull you to safety but you
chose to stay on a sinking ship – chose to continue existing in the dangerous
condition you were in, believing you were safe because you ‘prayed’. I read
hearts – your hearts were never all mine because of your proudful stubborn
will. You treated me like a wooden idol you could appease by offering me
tainted worship, and your cries were yet another expression of
self-preservation in your sinful ways. Your focus was on keeping your boat,
which represented your status and position, demanding that I save you so
that you can continue in your wicked way and brag about how you ‘prayed’ and
swayed Me. Your prayers have not reached heaven because they were always earth-bound.
For years I have reached out to you, but your hearts were hard; you did not
listen to Me as My word was read to you in church; you rejected My Word and
never truly desired it. You reasoned that because you were baptized and took
communion regularly you secured your salvation. But, you chose not answer my
call to serve Me, as it required sacrifice – your work and your personal time,
yet expected others to serve you. You treated faith like a commodity rather
than a relationship with Me. That’s why you never heard Me nor really knew me.
I sent intervention after intervention, but you preferred all these years to
stay in your ‘sinking ship’ rather than come to me without your personal agenda.”
The two men complained, “then why didn’t you make us
worship you right? Why didn’t you make us get onto the
coast guard boat with our friend?” Jesus replies, “Your other friend cried
tears of remorse, prayed to Me, repenting of his sins – including rejecting me
- he surrendered his whole self to Me, letting go of the self-righteousness prison
in which he had lived for years, the Father forgave him, and I responded to his
prayer, opened his mind and heart to my presence, placed my Spirit in him. He
immediately received My salvation and My provision for life with me. Even now, you
believe that you could have salvation without close relationship with Me. But
you - you stubbornly stayed stuck, you shut the door to relationship with Me, refusing
me yet again, preferring your own version of salvation – deceiving yourself --putting
trust in your own wit and logic, seeking to save the status quo and thus closing
your minds and hearts to My provision of safety. And just like the many, many
times I reached out to you, you rejected My call again for this - the last time,
because My call meant to you that you had to let go of the love of material things
and status you held so dear, that I would require you to work for My
glory and not yours. Your friend began praising me in his heart and
then with his lips while you two were distracted with your self-salvation. He grabbed
hold of the ladder eager for new life with me; you chose to stay, never asking Me
what I would have you do at that juncture because your hearts were stone. You
have always wanted my blessings, my peace, my provisions, but you bore no fruit
of faith, no heart for service, no interest in Me outside of what I could do
for you; you rejected my words of eternal life. You sought instead the world’s
and the flesh’s pleasures – false idols -- rather than obedience to and life
with Me, and were comfortable not abiding in Me. You now have your reward.”
And suddenly
they found themselves groping about in the density of darkness that surrounded
them.
