Six months had come and gone since Tim crossed to OneDayBow.

He told a lot of his friends, but most of them said, “How

Can you say that you’ve been there and met some unseen King?

We’ll believe it when we see it! Show us some real thing.”

Some skepticism isn’t a bad thing. As one who has grown more distrusting of politicians and media personalities, I would say that it is a wise person who doesn’t believe everything they hear – and only a portion of what they see. But that  shouldn’t mean you reject everything that’s not in accordance with your made-up-mind.  So, you might ask,  how do you determine what is “real”? Good question. Complicated answer. Reliable and accurate witnesses are important, but so is a willingness to accept and act according to what is verified as real and right.  (Just have to throw in; only the Bible is a totally reliable witness of Truth, and is so necessary for Christians in rightly navigating life!)

Let’s read a little further in Chapter 19 of The Bridge from OneDayBow to see what other objections Tim’s friends raise:

The Book did not impress them much. One said, “It can’t be True!

Give us scientific proof, and carbon-dating too.”

Tim answered, “Please believe me that what I said, I’ve done.

If you go out to the Bridge you can meet the King’s Son.”

Tim’s friends had doubts about the existence of the King, but perhaps their statements reveal more than doubt. Before they even read the Book, they were voicing skepticism and demanding proof that far exceeded their acceptance of the city’s fable! And if a way exists to find out, would they want to? Let’s see what happens next:

But they laughed all the louder when Tim said, “Just one way

Will take you to His Kingdom, and you could never pay

For that cross with your bobbles. The Bridge exists because

The Son alone could pay the cost – that’s how high it was!”

Some friends, and his family, were skeptical at best.

When Tim said, “The game’s a lie!” he quickly lost the rest.

Okay, I think we’re getting to the heart of the matter. A trip out to the Bridge to meet the King’s Son, and even possibly crossing it is one thing, but Tim isn’t just telling them that there’s a nice little benefit they could tack on to their HereAndNow experience. No! He is saying that their bobbles are worthless and what they’ve believed – what they have been told and settled in to accept – is wrong, erroneous, and a flat-out lie! They had bought into the bobble fable! They were persuaded they could “earn” eternal life! Only the Son could secure that by bridging the chasm between people and the eternal King.

So what do you think? Did Tim go too far? Should he have been more diplomatic? More inclusive, or tolerant of contrary beliefs? Maybe tell them the good parts first, and then smack them with the hard facts after they committed? After all, are a few wrong ideas going to hurt the Kingdom? (I really wish I could hear your responses, but I can’t so I guess I’ll just proceed with my conclusions.)

We might be tempted to think that Tim was too direct, and lacked tact, but what was the original objection of Tim’s friends? “How can you say that you’ve been there and met some unseen King?” Tim didn’t say he met an unseen tempter who was giving out buckets of bobbles. They would have run out immediately for that! Maybe they would have even believed aliens landed and blew up the Bridge! Tim’s friends may have been disputing the existence of the King, but is it possible that their real issue was with the King? The very Name says that entry into His Kingdom means accountability. You bow before the will of the King and obey. And key in His Kingdom is trusting in His Son.

I think the invitation and explanation Tim gave were spot-on and sufficient to point them in the right direction. Letting, or leading, someone to believe less than the whole Truth is an insult to a genuine seeker – even if they aren’t yet seeking – and an injustice to the Kingdom that the Son paid so dearly to open to human beings! Tim definitely presented the opportunity to find out what is real and True. But their response wasn’t up to him. All things considered, perhaps the next question should be, Why not believe?   

This is a great lesson for we Christians. Unashamedly present the full Gospel, the Good News that Jesus came to die for our sins that we might be forgiven and free to worship our God and King! And by all means, know and share His perfect Word which reveals the Truth that supersedes and squashes every lie and deception. And perhaps, if you face resistant people, you can see past the façade to the underlying issue: Why not believe?