I was watching an
episode of The West Wing, and a priest tells the President this joke:
You remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town, and that the all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, "I'm religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me."The waters rose up. A guy in a rowboat came along and he shouted, "Hey, hey you, you in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety." But the man shouted back, "I'm religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me."A helicopter was hovering overhead and a guy with a megaphone shouted, "Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I'll take you to safety." But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety.Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter he demanded an audience with God. "Lord," he said, "I'm a religious man, I pray, I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?" God said, "What do you want from me? I sent you a radio report, a helicopter and a guy in a rowboat."
Here is my
retelling, which I hope illustrates the difference between faith in
religion and faith in the living God:
Four men were praying together in a house by the river. They heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town, and that all the residents should evacuate their homes. One of the men said, “Thank you Lord for warning us. Brothers, let’s go.” But the other three said, “I know God loves me and he will save me, and even if he doesn’t, I’m his to do with as he wishes.” And they went back to praying together; the first man got up and left the area .The waters rose up. A guy in a rowboat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you, you guys in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.” One of the men said, “Thank you Jesus, for sending this rowboat. Brothers, let’s go.” But the other two said, “I know God loves me and will keep me safe, and even if he doesn’t, I’m his to do with as he wishes,” And kept on praying. The one man got up and left in the rowboat.A helicopter was hovering overhead and a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you two down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.” One of the men said, “Thank you Lord for sending this helicopter. Brother, let’s go.” But the other answered, “I know God loves me, and will keep me safe, and even if he doesn’t, I’m his to do with as he wishes.”Well… that last man drowned. As he came through the gates of heaven, the Lord Jesus took him into his arms and said, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your lord.” The man said, “Lord, what about those other three guys?” Jesus answered, “If I want them to wait on earth until the end of the Age, what’s it to you?”
