One fine day, two men were walking by a lake in a city park. They were enjoying the autumn leaves and engaging in deep conversation about life when from out of nowhere they heard it approaching. It, was a 300 pound hotdog cart that had escaped its vendor and was now fleeing downhill to freedom. The men only had enough time to look up, and see it crash into one of the men, sending him flying into the lake in a wonderful explosion of hotdogs, buns, ketchup, mustard, relish, and a special, super spicy chili. Splashing around in the water with hot dogs floating everywhere and the super spicy chili cleansing his eyes the man shouted, “Ouch! Help me, I can’t swim. I’m going to drown.” The water was to the man’s neck and he was sinking fast.
“I can help,” the second man called from the bank of the lake. “I can figure this out, I’m a master of truth,” he yells as he survey’s the situation. “It seems to me that you are in danger of drowning.”
“Good read of the situation,” the sinking man says with the water now to his throat. “You are a genius, now help me out!”
The man on the bank quickly scanned all of the hotdogs and yelled back, “Hey, look at all of the hotdogs around you! There must be hundreds. Look on the bright side, you won’t go hungry. People are so negative these days…don’t fall into that sort of negativity. It is very destructive.”
“I’m not hungry you idiot, I’m sinking!” the man yelled back with water now to his chin. “Just help me.”
“I’m trying the best I can. I’m under a lot of pressure here,” the man on the bank whined back.
Now, do not get me wrong. I am not against positive thinking. We are regularly reminded in church to count our blessings; to take a look at the gifts that we have and thank God. But, positive thinking, good as it may be, does not have the power to save…especially when drowning surrounded by hundreds of wieners.
“Take a look at you splashing around out there,” the man on the bank yells. “Just splash a little harder, toward the shore.”
“Splash toward the shore? I can’t see the shore, I think the chili has eaten away my ear balls.”
“The shore is right in front of you. Just splash harded. Just work harder and you will save yourself.”
So, the drowning man splashed water toward the shore, completely misunderstanding the man on the bank, propelling his body quickly backwards toward deeper water.
Now, do not get me wrong. I am not against hard work and the benefits that it brings. Just ask my children. And, people in the faith are often some of the hardest working people you will find. They work hard to take care of their churches. They work hard to feed the hungry. They work hard to care for the needy. They work hard to educate the children. The faithful work very, very hard. But, as Luther discovered just before the reformation, hard work does not save you; especially, when water is now up to your lips.
“I’m a goner. I have a loser for a friend. I can’t swim. I am not going to make it. Goodbye cruel world. Goodbye cruel hotdog stand,” the man gurgles and gushingly weeps, only adding to his predicament.
“Hey, who are you calling a loser! I’m trying my best. I don’t see you doing the same thing you baby. If you just believed a little more, you wouldn’t even have a problem. God probably wanted you to struggle in a shower of hotdogs and ketchup so that you would start to believe harder. Don’t give up, just believe that you can make it to the shore and you will. Just believe correctly and everything will be fine, you will be saved,” the man on the shore reassures.
Somehow, faith discussions always come down to this; believing correctly. Whether you are drowning in confusion and doubt, or drowning in a sea of hotdogs, it always comes down to believing correctly. Do you believe in baptism correctly? Do you believe in the atonement the same way that I do? Do you even know what the heck I’m talking about when I mention the atonement? Well, you better, because you need to believe it correctly in order to be saved. We are saved by truth. We are saved by belief. We are saved by our intellectual understanding. We are speaking a bunch of nonsense. The truth that we seek is not an idea. The truth that we need is not a concept that needs to be understood correctly. The truth is found in a relationship. The truth is a person, and when He has found us, we truly are free.
With his nose soon to go under, that man waves goodbye to the world, and gives a special one fingered wave to his friend on the bank. But, he need not fear so much. A man in a business suit rushes past the man on the bank, jumps into the water, grabs the drowning man, and pulls him to safety.
“Thank you. Thank you. You saved me. You cared and you saved me.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m sure anyone would have done it for you,” the business man replies.
“No, not just anyone would take the time to jump in and save me,” the former drowning but now very wet man stares at his friend.
“Well, I could have done that. Anyone could have done that,” the man on the bank replies.
"Thank you for caring." the wet man says again.
In the end, the truth is not an idea. Nor does it come about by counting your blessings. Nor does it come in the night as a great idea. None of these things can save. Only someone can save. The truth is not an idea. The truth is a person. And, it is to that person we cling, Jesus Christ our Lord. "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."
All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and is used by permission. All rights reserved.
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