24 Jul 2007

Love

Posted by joncooper

The afternoon had given way to evening, and still the fierce winter blizzard raged outside. I was sitting in a tiny airport high in the Rocky Mountains; I had hoped to be back home in Los Angeles by now, but the storm outside had grounded all three of the day’s flights. This was clearly the wrong time of year to be flying through the mountains.

My fellow passengers (who were all as eager to leave as I was) had fallen into a state of resigned dejection. There was nothing that could be done but wait until the storm died down. Maybe it would clear up by the morning and we could all head home, or perhaps it would last for several more days. We could not leave the airport and find accommodations because the storm had blocked all roads leading back to town. There was nothing we could do but wait, so we waited – and waited, and waited some more.

The only person whose spirits seemed undampened was Charlie, the strange Guldovian native that was sitting next to me. Charlie seemed quite content to wait out the storm; evidently he’d been in this sort of situation before. “All will be well in time,” the balding, overweight man said in his deep booming voice as he rifled through his lime-green purse. “The snows – we have them often in my country. Waiting is what we must do now.”

“I guess,” I said glumly. I watched him for a while, thinking about our previous conversation. “I don’t understand you,” I said at last.

“That is good, that is good,” Charlie said, beaming. “I am Charlie. What is your name?”

I shrugged. “You can call me Miles,” I replied.

“Milo – it is a beautiful name. Many people in my country have that name.”

“Miles,” I said, emphasizing it again. “My name is Miles.”

“What do you not understand, fellow traveler Milo?” Charlie asked.

“I just don’t understand how you can say that God is not love,” I replied. “What makes you think such a thing?”

Charlie looked at me, puzzled. “I do not think that, no. God is love, yes. But love – what is love?”

“You know – it’s being nice to people. Helping them when they need help. Being there for them. That kind of thing.”

“Yes, that is so, traveler Milo. But help – what help does the people need?”

“Oh, everyday kind of help, I guess,” I said. “Stopping the storm and letting us go home would be nice, for starters.”

“The storm, yes, the storm. But,” Charlie paused a moment, then resumed, “the storm – it is our greatest need? What of sin?”

“Sin?” I asked, puzzled. “Sin isn’t stopping me from boarding that plane outside and getting home – the snowstorm is. Sin is a bit old-fashioned, anyway. We don’t really believe in sin in this country.”

“But you have a debt, yes? A debt with God. That is sin – the debt that you owe. How are you going to pay it?”

“What do you mean? What right does God have to claim any part of my life?”

Charlie thought a moment. “God made you – and me – and all the peoples that are in this world. He made the ground, and the stars, and everything that is here. The one who makes things – that is who sets the rules. God set down rules- do not lie, or cheat, or steal, and always love God. These rules – you have followed them completely, yes?”

“I haven’t done too bad,” I replied. “Better than a lot of people. I’m good enough, I think.”

“But God does not think so – God sees your debt, and it must be paid. That is what the cross was for – to pay our debt. It is what the people needed most.”

“The cross? What’s that got to do with it?”

“Man – he did not follow God. He broke the law, and deserved to die,” Charlie said. “That was the penalty. So God sent His Son to pay our debt, so we would not receive what we deserved. That is love, Milo – to give your life for another.”

“But Charlie,” I said, “what about all those people that just don’t see things that way? They’re good people, Charlie. God is love, and is surely going to accept them.”

“God has offered Jesus to pay their debt,” Charlie replied. “If they will not let God pay it, then they must pay it themselves, and God will come to claim the debt. Those who refused Jesus will find that they cannot pay their debt and will perish. It is only just, yes? You can accept God’s love – or refuse it. It is your choice, Milo.”

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