Do you remember the classic 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory? (I’m talking about the old freaky one starring Gene Wilder, not the new freaky one starring Johnny Depp.) After our heroes Charlie and Grandpa Joe have survived an arduous tour of the Wonka Chocolate Factory, they go to collect the grand prize that’s been promised to them: a lifetime supply of Wonka chocolate. But there’s a surprise at the end. Willy Wonka, the factory owner, denies Charlie the prize based on a technicality.…
Here is the misunderstanding to guard against: Jesus is not like Willy Wonka. Our God is not a God who delights in keeping people in the dark, only to pull the rug out from under them in the last minute and deny them the rewards he promised. He is not a miser looking to withhold blessings on a technicality.
Instead, God delights in saving his people. Jesus says that he “came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). That is why he came to earth, to save us from our sins. If he didn’t want to save us, he would not have come in the first place. Jesus is not a cheat. He is not a swindler. He is not an inhumane monster. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Mike McKinley, Am I Really A Christian?, pp. 24-25
