Crossing the Unbuilt Bridge

June 2, 2009

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 17-18 and 2 Corinthians 6

Some of you might remember a certain scene in X-men where the villain Magneto forms this bridge by taking tiles from the wall and making this makeshift floor in front of him. It’s a two-second special effect that is worth the price of admission, but it left me wondering about why the heck Magneto didn’t make the entire bridge and then walk across it.

I suppose that is what faith is, leaping and then looking. I find it odd that Elijah just goes up to Ahab and makes a challenge. I mean, it is pretty simple: If God is God, worship Him, and if Baal is lord, worship him.

I guess he was sick of the generations of faithful kings and then evil kings that had come before him. I can’t say that I blame him. Who really wants this kind of inconsistency?

Needless to say, it is the matter of Elijah’s challenge which interested me. There doesn’t seem to be any point before this scene where Elijah spent time with God to see if that is what He wants to do.

No, it appears that Elijah came up with this plan all by himself, and took steps to implement it. Not only that, it seems to have worked. Fire fell from the heavens, and really humiliated those prophets of Baal.

Can you imagine if Elijah did this, and it turned out that God didn’t back him up? Man, all that trash talking would have been in vain, and it would have been really sad. I’m not certain what would have happened if Baal and God didn’t answer.

I can’t help but wonder if God likes it when we just do stuff like that. After all, wasn’t it Peter’s idea to walk on water? And Jesus was the one who just said: “yeah, go ahead”.

However, most of us don’t really take this sort of initiative with God. We don’t just say: “Hey, you guys don’t believe in God, just watch as I walk across this river. Then you will believe.”

Have you ever tried that? Me neither. Maybe it is because I don’t want people thinking that I am completely nuts after I fall into the water after the first step. Yeah, I’m guessing that would probably happen.

But what if it didn’t? Man, that would be something. Of course, there is no guarantee that the people that you are trying to win over with the gospel won’t think it is some sort of trick.

Still, when was the last time you put it all on the line for God?