To the vain, The Church is a scary place. They are afraid to enter. “If I accept the teachings of The Catholic Church, I lose what I am. My own thoughts, beliefs, and desires become useless. They are me! I love me! I can’t bear to lose myself!”
Some realize: “Jesus was clear. ‘Verily, verily I say unto you thou art Peter and on this rock I build My Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I give you the keys to The Kingdom of Heaven.’ If I truly believe in Jesus, how can I stay away?”
The vain embrace the age-old excuses that others have used to stay away. “Catholics worship idols!” “Catholics worship The Pope!” “Catholics worship Mary!”
Where do these ridiculous notions come from? The vainest of men. “I’ll invent my own denomination! Jesus loves me! I love Jesus! What more do I need? I need people to give me money! I will promise Heaven without obedience!”
They build little shacks outside The Church Jesus Founded. They endlessly paint and remodel. Passersby are encouraged to enter. “Come, worship with us. We are ‘friendly’. We are ‘welcoming’. We can help you get into Heaven! You can keep right on thinking, saying, and doing as you please!”
Others shun vanity. “I am not as smart as God.”
“The chances that Jesus could have been born in Bethlehem, a tiny village among many, are 200,000 to one! The odds that He was born at the time prophesied by Daniel? 10,000 to one! The odds that He would be in the small Tribe of Judah and in the far smaller House of David? A million to one! The odds that He would die, bones visible, lifted up, pierced, no bones broken? Millions more to one!”
Many, just by playing the trillions to one odds, believe. Those blessed to believe enough to obey must end up in The Only Church He Founded.
To the vain, The Church is a scary place. To the humble and obedient? It is the doorway to Heaven.