Each
year around Christmas, people who do not believe that Christ is the Son of God
spend money on advertizing denying the birth of Christ the Savior. This year is
no exception as this bill board is up in New York’s Times Square. I do find it
ironic the American Atheists use a Saint as a symbol of their unbelief! The
fact is that people began dismissing Jesus’ authority as the Christ 2,000 years
ago.
Matthew 13: 54-59, “Coming to his
hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were
amazed, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked.
‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his
brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where
then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But
Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and
in his own home.’ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack
of faith.”
Christmas offers a great
opportunity to share what you believe beyond the presents, the tree and the
eggnog. Throughout the Book of Acts, the Disciples of Christ shared their faith
with kings, priests, lawyers and politicians. They did not mince words or tell
people what they wanted to hear. They were guided by the Holy Spirit and spoke
the truth of the Scriptures. Consider Philip, who shared the Gospel with an
Ethiopian official returning from a faith sojourn (Acts 8); or Stephen, who
spoke before the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Israelites (Acts 7) and
finally, Paul explaining grace to kings and their courts (Acts 25). 1 Peter
3:13 says that we should, “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who
asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with
gentleness and respect.” I was called to give an answer to someone that I never
believed gave a thought about matters of faith.
When police officers work with
partners, it is generally as part of a specialized team like detectives or
special enforcement unit. One of my first partners was one of the best cops I
ever worked with and yet as abrasive as an insult comic. I worked with Jim for
over a year. He was an old school, street cop. If he was a journeyman officer,
I was the apprentice. I can say that I learned the craft of policing from Jim.
However, beyond the street cop expertise, Jim was difficult to be around. He
was brash and irreverent. He was more likely to tell you to jump off a cliff
(using very different words) than to show compassion. He exploited any weakness
or shortcoming for his personal amusement. You did not want to be the target of
his course jesting. There were some long days riding around in the police car
together. When it came to faith, Jim relied on himself. He knew I was a
believer and if the subject came up at all, it was usually because Jim was
giving me a hard time.
One December night, we were
driving in downtown Santa Barbara and drove past the Paradise Bookstore. Jim
turned on a side street and parked. He didn’t say a word but left me sitting in
the passenger seat and went into the business. I waited a few minutes, got
irritated that he was shopping and followed him into the store. I found Jim
standing in the checkout line holding a set of books titled The Chronicles
of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Now this was weird. C.S. Lewis is considered one
of the most accomplished Christian writers of the 20th Century. The
Chronicles of Narnia is a children’s series of seven books that centers on
the character of Aslan the Lion. Aslan is representative of Jesus Christ. What
would Jim be doing buying this particular set of books?
I walked up and stood next to Jim
and commented, “So you are buying The Chronicles of Narnia?”
“Yeah, so.”
“Well, The Chronicles of Narnia is
a Christian allegory. If you read those books, you might become a Christian.”
Since we were in the checkout line
of a crowded bookstore, Jim told me what he thought under his breath and I left
the store smiling. It was not very often I got one over on Jim. We got back in
the car and resumed patrolling the streets. After a few minutes, Jim says, “So
what is Christianity all about anyway?”
I was stunned. Here was a guy who
went out of his way to ridicule and demean me almost daily. He was now asking
me about what I believed. I thought for a moment about how to respond. Ok,
fine. I figured that he would let me have it when I was done so I would hold
nothing back.
“You want to know what
Christianity is all about Jim? Here it is…”
I started with Adam and Eve and
talked about the fall of man. I talked about the consequences of sin and how we
are separated from God. I told him about Israel, the Exodus, the Ten
Commandments, the prophets, the birth of Jesus. I described the crucifixion and
the meaning of this final sacrifice. He listened to story of the resurrection
and the meaning of grace. I ended by telling him that we all have a choice and
that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We will all be
judged and without salvation we risk going to hell. I held nothing back and
presented Christianity from a cop’s perspective: Who, What, When, Where, Why,
How. I stopped talking and waited.
After a few moments Jim said, “I
haven’t done anything wrong.”
I
said in a matter of fact tone, “Yes you have,” reminding him of something he did do wrong.
Something few people knew about, but it was known nonetheless. He knew it too.
It got quiet in the car after that. We never spoke again about faith. He would
continue to be crass and rude in the days that followed, but there was a change
in that Jim stopped mocking me for what I believed.
