The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
“I hope no reader will suppose that ‘mere’ Christianity is here put forward as an alternative to the creeds of the existing communions — as if a man could adopt it in preference to Congregationalism or Greek Orthodoxy or anything else. It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals.
The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think, preferable. It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considerable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait.
When you do get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and paneling.
In plain language, the question should never be: ‘Do I like that kind of service?’ but ‘Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me towards this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?’
When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house.”
C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) in Mere Christianity (New York: HarperCollins, 1980) XIII-XIV.
Over the weekend I messaged back and forth with a faithful Daily Meditations reader. He expressed a desire for people he knows to embrace the message of a particular post. Here was my reply.
“Let me tell you the hardest thing about living a surrendered life. You want more for those around you. You have tasted the life that is truly life and understand that it requires perpetual surrender. But others are not where you are? And you have been where they are. Your role is to help them grasp life in the economy of God with love, a pure heart, and sincere faith. And you realize just how much is out of your control so you pray more than ever.”
Why do I share this? Only a couple days later, I read this excerpt from Lewis. My friend has picked the door. Others are out in the hall. God extends patience to them. We need do the same thing. We forget that He was patient with us.
Generosity is a journey that only reaches its destination in the kingdom where we store up treasures. Those who chose the door that reflects obedience to the teachings of Jesus can anticipate eternal reward.
For those in the hall or who have chosen the wrong doors, we need to extend to them what Christ has extended to us: patience. Their decisions are out of our control. Our work is prayer and showing them the way with love, a pure heart, and sincere faith.