In the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the wardrobe represents the barrier to belief. Beyond the back of that cabinet lay a magical world in which humans could be heroes and the fantastic was true. Lucy goes into the wardrobe and finds the back of it a gateway to a wonderful place called Narnia.
But when she returns, she is confronted with a family that at first thinks she is playing, then lying and finally crazy. Edmund learns the truth and still doesn’t verify her claims.
Lucy is frustrated and depressed. How could she find something so wonderful only to be rebuffed by everyone she loves and tells about it? She withdraws and becomes unwilling to talk to the others because of their unbelief.
Like Lucy, Isaiah foretells the coming of the Messiah and warns that accounts of Him will not be believed.
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:1-3 (NIV)
We confront this issue when we try to share the good news of Jesus. Even at Christmas time, a supposed time of faith and hope, people neglect the truth of the season. Stores who could not survive without Christmas revenue refuse to talk about Christmas because of the religious overtones of the word. Instead they choose a less offensive “holiday†or “season†approach to their marketing.
The question of belief is an exploration of barriers that stand between us and Jesus. Some barriers are involuntary - they are there whether we like it or not, others are voluntary - we place them or maintain them purposely.
The difference between these two kinds of barriers is the difference between a lake and a wall. There are two parts of Michigan, the upper and lower peninsulas. People from the upper peninsula can walk to Wisconsin. People from the lower peninsula cannot, because the states are separated by Lake Michigan. The only way to get to Wisconsin for these people is to take a boat, or leave the state. For people from the upper peninsula, their borders are on land and invisible, just like other state borders.
Contrast this to old East and West Berlin. Before the Berlin wall came down, it was a great ordeal to go back and forth. There was just a wall with a gate, but refugees were shot trying to get past that barrier illegally.
The difference between Lake Michigan and the Berlin Wall is that one is natural; the other was placed by someone’s act of the will. People cross or refuse to cross Lake Michigan all the time because
• they either do or don’t have means
• because they either do or don’t want to
• because they either can or they cannot
It isn’t impossible, but people will cross or not based on their personal desires, limitations and abilities.
Unlike the Berlin wall which the government of Germany would not cross because they refused to.
- It was not far
- There was access
- It did not look impossible
Logically, it was easy to cross, it was just walking through a gate, but politics and animosity kept the barrier intact.
This is the way it is with Jesus. When we ask the question, "Why won’t people believe us?" We are addressing the types of barriers they have to belief. Some are natural like the lake - they may be crossed once a means is provided. Some are manufactured - they will not be crossed whether access is provided or not.
Natural barriers
We are people of nature and senses. We perceive things through the gates of eyes, ears, noses, hands, and tongues. Only experience is enough for most people to move beyond these five senses and believe things that are not subject to that kind of perception.
Jesus being the Son of God
- That He lived a sinless life
- That He died to forgive our sins
- That He rose from the dead to give us eternal life
- That He offers a living relationship with God
cannot be physically sensed, but discerned by faith.
This is a natural barrier. Culture, family, and experience will determine how easy it is for someone to cross it and believe.
> To some it sounds too good to be true
Look at how the Apostles responded to Jesus who stood right in front of them, risen from the dead.
... he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. Luke 24:40-43 (NIV)
The apostles were so overcome with joy, it seemed to them that the whole thing could not be real. All of us apply this kind of thinking to every other facet of our lives.
If it seems too good to be true, it probably is not true. We won’t invest our money that way, why should people invest their lives that way?
Your life is the best-counter argument to this objection to the Gospel. If your life bears it out, day after day, year after year, it must be true.
> Some people simply need time to digest the information they are hearing
Jesus speaks to Nicodemus who eventually believes. He knows that Nicodemus is trying, but he needs facts laid out to him and the reasoning behind Jesus’ plan to be made clear, then like good coffee it needs to percolate.
I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? John 3:12 (NIV)
Joseph had this kind of barrier. He heard what Mary was saying and was not willing to call her a liar, but he was too bound by his own thinking to trust her completely. Once the gaps were filled in, he was happy to believe and embrace the truth of Christmas.
Some people with whom you share the gospel will not jump to a decision based on your word. They and you should allow the truth of the gospel to germinate in God’s timing. Don’t force people toward a decision. Allow the Holy Spirit to bring about decisions when He sees fit.
> Some people associate spiritual things too closely with imagination, superstition or hallucination
People are taught by experience to trust the laws of nature. When someone contradicts them, i.e.:
the world is round
they consider the person an unreliable source.
At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" John 10:19-20 (NIV)
In The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter and Susan were convinced that Narnia could not be real because they did not believe such places existed at all. The fact that Lucy believed in Narnia was, to them, proof that she was either crazy or that she was holding on to a strange lie.
Their disbelief was not their fault. It was natural, and they had been taught to believe that people conduct their lives in the real world and not in alternative worlds where fantastic things happened.
The professor pointed out to Susan and Peter that just because they or the adults they knew had never seen Narnia, the existence of the place was not disproved.
- Lucy was basically honest
- Lucy was not crazy
- They had no proof to contradict Lucy’s claim
Therefore Lucy was probably telling the truth ... logical.
Once again, if people are to believe our claims then many will have to see the proof for themselves. As Jesus changes your life and changes you into a person who resists sin and embraces kindness and compassion, people will be more likely to believe in the transforming power of God. If there is no fruit like that then our claims that
- a man could be born miraculously
- do nothing wrong
- be executed as a criminal
- and apply his death to your own guilt as payment of its penalty
sounds like superstition ... aside from proof that your own debt has been paid and you live in the joy and freedom of that redemption.
> Some are more reliant on proof than others
I recently heard a TV star say the reason he believed there was no God is the absence of evidence. He just sounded stubborn to me, but if he was being honest, then one good demonstrable miracle should make a believer of him.
But he [Thomas] said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." John 20:25 (NIV)
When Peter and Susan saw for themselves that Narnia was real, their doubts of Lucy’s sanity or honesty went away. They embraced the reality before them and set out to explore it for all it was worth.
Jesus is not against proof. He has a problem with people who demand it out of selfishness or because it is showy. If a person wants proof, that may be ok. Purpose in your heart to be the best proof you can personally be and pray that God will provide any other proof that person needs.
Manufactured barriers
Some people have their own personal Berlin Walls. Their hearts contain barriers of their own devising that they are unwilling to bring down until they are given overwhelming reasons to do so. These barriers can come down, but the reasons for their destruction will be more emotional than natural barriers. People with manufactured barriers think they have good reasons for keeping spiritual things at bay.
> Some don’t like Jesus because He does not do things the way they think He should
We’ve already seen that His brothers thought He was crazy. They had other problems with Him.
Jesus’ brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." For even his own brothers did not believe in him. John 7:3-5 (NIV)
I have heard people express difficulty with Jesus’ meekness and submission. To others death and sacrifice are foreign to their idea of God. Some think turning the other cheek is self-destructive. Jesus’ upside down kingdom of:
- giving to gain
- going last to be first
- and dying to live
are antithetical to the modern idea of:
- taking all you can get
- looking out for number one
- and seizing the day
Some people won’t give up their agenda for one like that, until they see that it is the smartest move they could make.
> Some people are too proud or think they are too good to need Jesus
Pride will prevent more people from coming to Christ than any other problem. It is the most common barrier to faith.
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. " Matthew 21:31-32 (NIV)
Edmund was a disbeliever in Narnia at first because he could not accept it. He was, perhaps, old enough to think that such a place was too good to be true. Then he saw it for himself and still refused to embrace its reality. He would not vouch for Lucy’s truthfulness. He chose instead to believe a lie and to deny the truth.
This is the way it is with some people. Jesus is a reality they have read about heard about, but they will not accept His claims or His call on their lives. It seems:
- unenlightened
- admission of personal weakness
- over judgmental
For the most part, people just do not want to admit that they need help. They don’t want to admit that even God could know better than they do. They don’t want to admit that their decisions are wrong.
Like Edmund and his obsession with Turkish Delight, they become so enamored with their sin, that they cannot see it is harming them. They would rather have the sin than a relationship with God or even a decent relationship with their family.
Stubbornness is the twin of pride. Even after we have seen beyond doubt that we have been wrong, or that we have sinned, we hold our ground. Just like in Jesus’ day:
Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. John 12:37 (NIV)
This is Zachariah. He was standing in the Temple talking to an angel and doubting his word. It took the destruction of his will through the removal of his voice for 9 months to solidify his faith.
Don’t be daunted by the stubbornness of your relatives or friends as you share the Gospel. God can overcome even the hardest heart. He has warned us that some hard hearts will not give way. That is the decision of each individual. Sometimes when they can see that their decision is based on nothing more than stubbornness, they will give in.
> Because they do not want to follow Jesus
Ultimately, some people just want to go their own way.
The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly."
Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep." John 10:24-26 (NIV)
In the end, it is a choice. Will we choose to follow Jesus, or will we choose not to? Some people are just down to that choice and to date it has been against following Jesus. They are sheep, they just belong to the wrong shepherd.
There is a blessing on those who believe
> Some people have no barriers
Like Lucy, some people simply hear and accept the truth of Jesus without doubt or reservation. This is what Jesus meant when he said that we needed to come like little children. It is no mistake that Lucy is the symbol of faith in the story. Lewis is telling us that her simple faith is the goal that we must all reach for.
- We all should be striving for Lucy’s simple faith
- At worst we like to think we are like Peter, reasonable but basically brave and strong
- Perhaps we like to think of ourselves like Susan, safe but nurturing, compassionate, and giving
But the reality is that all of us are like Edmund. We are selfish and stubborn. We like to be the center and it takes a great deal of light cast upon the shadows of our hearts before we will allow the truth to take root and grow. It is only after Jesus confronts us as Aslan confronted Edmund that we are willing to abandon our selves and follow Him.
Mary believed just that simply. She asked questions, but she did not doubt.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"
Luke 1:41-45 (NIV)
The blessing of belief for Mary was a relationship with Jesus like no other person could have. She became His mother, closer to Him in some ways than any other human could be. No one can ever have that relationship again.
But all relationships are unique. No one can ever have the relationship I have with my wife. Even if I die and she marries again, that guy will have a substantially different relationship with her than I have.
Each relationship with Jesus is unique. Some people who hear these words may have their own personal Lake Michigan, Berlin Wall, or Wardrobe to get past.
Examine your reasons for unbelief. See if they are natural or if they are manufactured. God will do His part to overcome your doubts and reluctance, but in the end, you must choose.
If you are sharing with others who are still overcoming barriers, make sure you are addressing the real barriers. Sometimes in our zeal to tell the good news, we fail to listen to why a person is not heeding it. Careful listening may be the key to helping a person surmount their barriers and step through the door into a life with more potential than they ever dared believe was possible.
