What would you do if an infectious cloud descended all around you, threatening to take your life? What if you had heard rumors of this cloud before, rumors of how it made its end of you? Some of the effects would be immediately felt--it would affect your vision and your hearing, and even darken the way you perceived reality. But, some of the damage would be slow and torturous, killing you one cell at a time. What if some of the rumors were even queerer? Rumors that the cloud would mutate you into a completely different kind of creature? One that had supernatural strength and perceptions, ate flesh and blood, and was even immortal? Do images of a vampire come to mind?
What kind of crisis would it be if this cloud descended not only around you, but your whole family? Your neighborhood? Your nation? The whole world?
This is exactly the striking image I got from reading Mere Christianity to my boys in the car last night as C. S. Lewis described the salvation process. There are two types of life, says Lewis: bios and zoe. Bios is natural life, created life, life that God made. Zoe is timeless life, the life of God that is and was always existing, the life that the Bible talks about us "entering". Salvation is when we enter that zoe life that was made available by Christ and leave behind the bios life. In fact the bios life is opposed to the zoe life, and will do everything it can to resist the process. No one wants to die. Even if rumors of a superior life exist.
There are many ways to "explain" salvation and many pictures to imagine it from different perspectives. Right now, I'm quite excited about the idea that the difficult part of eternal life has already been done. Christ has descended and envoloped you, me, our families, our neighborhoods, our nations, and the whole world. The question is:
How long can you hold your breath?
5 comments:
Apparently many can hold their breath for a lifetime. A lifetime of lifeless living.
But that is only as effective as when a child covers their own eyes and believes they can't be found.
Beautiful post.
Yes, yes, so many good metaphors.
The ones that don't work are the ones that have me going somewhere else (like seeking for Christ in the highest heavens and the deepest seas).
Right on. I'm really tired of being reminded to "come into His presence" or "meet Him in this place..."
Egads.
"The whole earth is filled with His glory." Infected, even.
Infected indeed.
The whole rebellious world has been irreparably damaged by the introduction of Christ. Or to say it another way, the whole fallen world is irreversibly benefited by Christ joining himself to it.
Christ is the water droplet that fell into the sea of humanity, coloring and flavoring it forever.
Christ is the bud that sprouted from the tree of humanity, infusing the whole organism with new life from the sun it could never really draw before.
Everything is different now. Swim as fast as you can, hide in your corner as well as you can, hold your breath as long as you can...it's hard to hide from the God who is over all, in all, and through all. Hell must be a really, really, really, really, really, really, really small place.
I am proud of you Steve. I am inspired by your work.
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