The other day I have went out to lunch with an old Christian friend of mine. He already knew about my return to Judaism and wanted to talk about my life and especially what led me out of Christianity (a.k.a. “Messianic Judaism”). He told me that he’s not going to attempt to talk me out of it. As I was relaying to him all of the reasons and happenings, he listened very intently, shocked not so much at my choice, but rather from all the things he was hearing, as if for the very first time. As I quoted the Hebrew Bible to him and compared it with the New Testament, he acquired a worried look on his face. As I brought up the biblical verses, one after another, where G-d over and over said to Israelites that He was not a man, that He can’t ever die, that we are not to place our trust in other human beings for our salvation, that we are to love Him above all else, that there’s no one next to G-d, he was actually shocked about the possibility that worshiping Jesus is in fact idolatry. He had so many questions.
I met him again, a few weeks later. He told me that he cannot stop thinking about what I said and that my words have turned his world upside down. I remember telling him one analogy to help him grasp the enormity of the sin of idolatry that Christians commit by focusing their affections on Jesus, a mortal human being, above all else, betraying their Maker:
You are a married man. Imagine coming home one day and finding your wife, the one you love so dearly, passionately embracing and kissing another man, a stranger neither you or your wife ever met before. Angry, shocked and dismayed, you approach your wife (still in the arms of that other man) and ask for an explanation of what clearly looks like a betrayal of marriage vows and trust. “What is this?!”, you shout.
She slowly turns her head to you (still locked in the tight embrace) and tells you matter-of-factly and with a smile: “Honey, don’t worry about it! This is not what it appears. You see, this man is a good man that I can trust. He is a trustworthy man who would never do anything wrong. This is not adultery! In fact, this man told me that you were the one who sent him to me – he represents you! Don’t you remember? He told me that when I speak to him affectionately, when I hug and kiss him, when I am intimate with him, when I love him more than anyone else, that it was as if I was hugging, kissing, and making love to you! Relax, my dear, you have absolutely nothing to be jealous of”. She again turns her head away from you and toward the stranger, placing her lips on his.
Still in shock and pain, the words come out of your mouth: “But… you… are… married …. to… me. What about our vows to each other? He’s…not…me and I am standing right in front of you! How can you do this to me?!”
But your wife is so smitten by passion for the stranger, she can no longer hear anything you say.
Daily Minyan 
Leave a comment