Mystery Ride

While on our trip to Tennessee during Spring Break, my family and I visited Dollywood with my wife’s family. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s basically exactly what it sounds like. It is a theme park that Dolly Parton started to help support the commerce in the area where she grew up. Once you get used to the twangy music that pipes through the whole place, you see that it is really quite fun. Not only that, but since it’s built on some of the Smoky mountains there, it’s beautiful.

Of course, I always enjoy the rides the best. I’ve even written about it here in my blog before! Now that my own sons like to ride some of the same rides, It simply doubles the fun for me! (That was a joke--for those that don’t know me, I have twin sons. Get it--double the fun?) There is something special about climbing that first hill in the coaster, and reaching over to reassure my kids, and just knowing I can be there for them. In fact, last summer, when he was on his first roller-coaster, one of my boys said, “I know I’ll be okay since you’ll be with me, daddy.” There’s a lot of theology in that statement, but that’s a blog for another day.

One of my boys is less thrilled about roller-coasters than the other, but for some reason, he got it into his head that the “Mystery Mine Train” would be one he would like and could handle. For the most part, it was an indoor ride made to look like an old mine that was abandoned. There were even some cool pyrotechnics that added to the fun. However, about two seconds into the ride, my son changed his mind. Immediately the ride dipped and dropped and hit some hard, fast turns. If it hadn’t been my own kid, I would have found it funny as he shouted, “I hate this ride, I hate this ride!” and screamed in fear. (Okay, I’m a terrible dad, because now that the incident is past, I do find it funny.)

Then we came to a stop and noticed something odd. The track was directly in front of us. The ride took a ninety-degree turn upward, putting all the riders flat on their backs. As it turns out, what goes up on a roller-coaster, must come down at a much faster rate. It dropped us turned us, twisted us, and flipped us upside down before coming to another abrupt stop. This time it was pitch black. After just a moment, strobe lights from above us barely illuminated the track, revealing yet another straight up climb, only this one was much higher, and as it tipped us forward to drop us, the aforementioned pyrotechnics blasted just over our head, leaving us feeling the heat as we plummeted once again. As a final nail in the coffin that once was my son’s adventurous spirit, and further sealing the fact that he will probably never get on a ride again, the ride went through a corkscrew, but left us upside down for about 25 feet of track. I’ve been upside down quite a few times, but being left to ride that was was new for me.

Finally, the ride ended, and everyone survived. All I could do was apologize to my son, even though he was the one who was convinced that he should ride the “Mystery Mine Train.” I just felt responsible, because he had these expectations built up in his head, and I could do nothing to warn him of the truth and let him know what horrible thing really lay ahead.

Fortunately, many of us DO know things for which we feel the need to warn people. We gladly tell people which dishes not to order at a particular restaurant, which movie not to see in the theaters, which cell phones don’t work, which mechanics to avoid, and which roads not to travel in order to avoid traffic. We are really good at warning people not to do some things.

Why is it that we are quick to warn people of the things that won’t last forever, like a bad burrito, or a boring movie, but when it comes to eternal things, such as the condition of a sinful soul without Jesus, we keep our mouths shut? Why are we so quick to point out the negatives in life, but simply refuse to share the joy of God’s love with others? I am just as guilty of this as anyone. I can’t count on two hands the number of times in the past couple of weeks that I have had an opportunity to just talk with someone and see if it opened a door, and didn’t even say hello to them. Scripture tells us in more than one place that when this life is over, Jesus waits to greet us, and will separate those He knows through a personal relationship, and those He tells to depart from Him. Those that He sends away are going to a place that will be so much worse than we can imagine. It’s not just a scary ride that we want to warn them about, it’s about eternal separation from God, in a place of torment and agony. “Oh no, don’t order the Kung Pow chicken from that place, it will kill you. But Jesus, well, I’m afraid I’ll temporarily offend you so I won’t warn you about what happens to those that don’t know Him.” We care more about other people’s digestion problems than we do about their very real, and very lost soul.

Ouch. I’m looking at my own reflection off of this computer monitor, and right about now, it’s as guilty as anyone else that might feel the sting. If you are a follower of Christ, like me, then we have NO excuses for not telling others about the saving grace and relentless pursuit of a loving God through Jesus Christ. What can we do to make clear what they can expect about life after this earth? Jesus’ command was pretty clear when He said, “Go and make disciples.” We are living in disobedience when we won’t share Him with others, and that leaves us responsible for the mystery that will drop them into a dark, horrifying place.