True Faith Is Grounded In True Discipleship

The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to two flight attendants called into the cockpit of a small passenger jet. There the captain of the airliner told them the jet would soon crash and they needed to hand out parachutes but do so in an orderly manner so as not to cause problems. The two talked it over to determine the best course of action in how to share the news. The first spoke up and said we should sell the idea to the people that it’s about making the flight more luxurious. The second attendant disagreed stating that would not work in the long run and they should just be honest but calm about the warning. They couldn’t agree so they decided to go their different ways. Each approached the first two passengers on the airline jet.

The first passenger was told by the first attendant to put the parachute on because it was meant to enhance his flight experience. The attendant explained that the seats would feel softer and the drink and food services would be more ample. She further explained that by putting on the parachute, the flight would seem happier and fuller of an experience. Lastly, the attendant told the passenger that he would experience some financial benefits to his wearing of the parachute as there would be in-flight discounts available.

The second passenger was approached by the other flight attendant with the parachute. He was told that the pilot called the attendants into the cockpit and told them the plane was experiencing malfunctions and would soon crash and that they needed to hand out parachutes to the passengers so they could be saved from the crash. She told him how to wear it, gave him a book on how to wear it and deploy it, then handed him more parachutes, asking him to help hand them out to other passengers once he was well versed in how to wear and deploy the chute.

The first passenger put his parachute on happily, then sat back in his seat expecting all the promises made to him. As he tried to sit back he noticed he couldn’t sit back well enough to get comfortable. He tried adjusting the parachute to assist in his comfort but couldn’t wear it properly and have the comfort he was promised. He looked around and observed other passengers without parachutes on and wondered why they hadn’t signed up for the rewards program. He saw them enjoying their flight experience more so than he was. Their drinks and food services were coming just as frequently as his were. He even over heard many of them exclaim their excitement over discounts and even free trips. Some often looked at him oddly and laughed that he was wearing the parachute. Unfortunately, he quickly threw off the chute and vowed never to don it again because he felt tricked into wearing it.

The second passenger who was told that the plane would soon crash cared nothing about his comforts. He quickly donned the chute and compared how he was wearing it to the manual he was given. He checked and double checked. Once he felt good about how he was wearing his chute and confident in how to deploy it, he grabbed the other chutes and more manuals and began approaching other passengers and explaining to them the situation, imploring them to put their chutes on. Many ignored him which broke his heart, others put theirs on and sat down, even though they were asked to help spread the word, still others took care to don their chutes well and learn how to teach others to do the same. They joined the efforts with the second passenger and the second flight attendant to spread the word about the impending doom of the flight.