A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens’ classic tale of two similar looking men with opposing destinies surrounded by the upheaval of the impending French Revolution begins with describing what often seems like a modern account of our own world.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…

I had a tale of two cities this past week. I was getting my oil changed and patiently waiting when I overheard a conversation between the desk guy and a lady who called in to get smog repairs. When informed that she would have to contact a smog certified specialist because she had failed her initial test she asked for a referral. I heard the desk guy explain, “I don’t know that information, Ms., but they are a reputable shop.” Then I heard him turn to a co-worker and say, “She just hung up on me because I couldn’t tell her if he was a Christian or not… apparently she got our number from the Christian Yellow Pages.” I wanted to cry out, “We’re not all like that! We don’t think we have some exclusive club.”

Later that day I was in a restaurant and overheard two young men discussing the opportunity of sharing the gospel. One young man had decided to enter ministry and was vocal about how excited he was to share the good news with all those who would call on the name of the Lord. I wanted to cry out, “I pray we’re all like that! The gospel is for all.”

You might think this tale of two cities is more about me being a nosey people watcher eavesdropping in on people’s conversations. Maybe… but what this tale reminded me was that people are watching us and wondering if our faith makes us open or closed, the best or the worst, the wise or the foolish, light or darkness, reaching out with a message of hope in a winter of despair. What tale is in your city?