It's not just a joke

There's a joke that's told among Christian circles that goes something like this:

There was a man stranded on the roof of his house. The floodwaters were rising and he had no way of escape.

The man prayed to God, "Lord, if you rescue me from this flood, I will do every thing you want me to do till the day I die."

Right then, a neighbor came by in a canoe. "Joe," he said, "get in my canoe and I'll get us out of here."

"Oh no no!," Joe said. "God is going to rescue me."

The neighbor tried several times to convince Joe to get in the boat, but finally gave up and paddled away.

A while later a rescue boat spotted the man and drove up to his roof. "Come on and get in!," yelled the rescue team.

"Oh no no!," Joe said. "God is going to rescue me."

Like the neighbor, the rescue team tried to convince Joe to get in the boat, but ultimately gave up and moved on.

The water continued to rise and rescue efforts were winding down when, finally, a helicopter spotted Joe and flew over to his roof. "SIR, CLIMB UP THE LADDER!," yelled a man on the helicopter. But once again, Joe could not be convinced.

Later that night, the water rose over the roof of Joe's house and Joe drowned.

Joe woke up in heaven. "God," Joe asked, "Why didn't you rescue me?"

God answered him, "I tried three times to rescue you, but you wouldn't accept my help!"

I got to thinking about Joe (fictional character only, not based on real individuals) and his problem. The problem was not that Joe didn't have faith nor that God didn't answer his prayer. Joe died because he didn't recognize what came from God. He thought the men were just men and couldn't see God's hand stretched out to him.

Unfortunately, Joe is not alone. We live in a world where we often look at Christians and do not see God, just other men and women. If I don't know what God looks like or what He acts like, how will I recognize Him when I look at another human being or listen to passages from a lengthy book? I'm not saying this to discourage anyone. Whether you believe in God or don't believe in God, I am asking you for the same thing... patience.

Christians have many ways of telling other people about God. Some do it quietly in the simple, loving way they lead their lives. Others do it loudly by standing in public places in the midst of trouble, yelling into a microphone. Some Christians gently ask questions, others forcefully argue the rightness of their position. Which person represents God? Maybe all of them do. But just because the servant who performs the errand doesn't look like your image of the Master who orders the errand, it doesn't mean there isn't a Master. So, I ask patience with the Christian if you do not believe in God because, really, this is between God and you. You may not like His servant, but God is worth checking into. It's a life or death question.

And you, Christian, is there someone you have been witnessing to for a long time? Is there someone you care about deeply who does not believe? Do you experience frustration at their "blindness" to your words? Have patience.

A human being cannot see spiritual truth with physical eyes. Our purpose is not to make converts to the Christian faith, but to love God and love the people on this earth. God, Himself, saves souls. Haven't you noticed that the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control) are all personality traits and not listings of other human beings? If we develop these traits, He will entrust people to us. It is God who reveals Himself to men and women... He revealed Himself to you, didn't He? And we can have confidence that anyone who seeks the Lord will find Him when he searches for Him with all his heart. God said so Himself (Jeremiah 29:12-13).

The unquestionable truth about the human being is that none of us are perfect (no matter how much we refuse the accept this truth). And that we will all be a disappointment to someone and similarly will all be disappointed BY someone. But this should not stop us from searching for the truth or living the Truth, whichever side of the coin you are on. And, for the record, I've been on both. And I've been guilty of both; both of being offended by the messenger, and of offending the one I intended to love.

May God bless you all with wisdom and understanding.