Are Christians Narrow-Minded Absolutists?

By Richard (Dick) Innes, Daily Encounter Wednesday, November 15, 2006

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"1

"Believing in absolutes doesn't make one an absolutist," writes Chuck Colson in his news report "Jubilee" about a TV interview where the host accused him of being an absolutist.

Colson said, "When that TV host asked me why Christians always try to cram our views down people's throats, I was getting nowhere. Then I remembered he loved to sail.

"'Have you ever sailed at night, navigating by the stars?' I asked. 'Yes,' he replied.

"'Could you use those stars to navigate if they appeared in different, random positions every night?'

"'Of course not,' he said slowly.

"I think he got it. Christians are not intolerant absolutists. We just don't want our culture to be lost at sea, unaware of the stars above that could so quickly right our course."2

Jesus not only stated emphatically that he was the only way to God the Father but also that, "Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it."3 We can call God an absolutist, too, if we so desire, but to ignore his way leads to our peril—and eternal damnation. God doesn't lead us to our peril.

Had there been any other way to Heaven Jesus would not have had to die on the cross to save us from our sins. Let us thank God that he provided the only way to God, Heaven, and eternal life.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, I thank you with all my heart that you provided the only way to make my peace with you through giving your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the price for the forgiveness of my sins and to give me the gift of eternal life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. John 14:6, (NIV).
2. Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship http://www.prisonfellowship.org/
3. Matthew 7:13-14, (TLB).

<:>