Allegory

Ross locked his computer and stepped lively to the break room - it was lunch time. He bit back a sigh when he noticed Angela already heating up her cellophane-wrapped repast but smiled back when she greeted him.
"How was your weekend?" She asked.
"Not bad, got a lot done around the house and went to a concert. How was yours?"
"Well," she began before pausing, "My church started this new program and I started volunteering with the youth for the summer. It should be fun!"
Shrugging, Ross replied, "Sounds fantastic."
Angela's face crunched up at his sarcasm. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, sorry. It sounds like you'll enjoy it." He watched as she removed her heated plastic tray and put his own lunch into the microwave. After pressing the proper button, he turned around and noticed that she had not left the break room.
"You should come to church with me some time. It's not as bad as you think."
He wanted to laugh but suppressed the urge. Instead, he asked, "What's your church like?"
This brightened her expression considerably. "Well, we have really great music, a young and energetic pastor, and we're very involved with helping the community and the world. We just sent a mission team to Guatemala, too, and I would have gone but I didn't have any PTO."
Ross considered his response. He'd been to a few churches in past years and had varying opinions on the concept as a whole. Figuring she might talk about him getting "saved" soon, he decided to pose a question to her instead.
"That sounds great but I have had a lot of questions about God and church and everything and people haven't really been able to answer them. Do you ever have questions about it?"
Angela nodded. "I talk to my pastor or my parents once in awhile and I pray a lot for God to help me through troubled times."
"So, how do you know you're doing the right thing? How do you know that what the pastor is teaching is correct and that you're supposed to be talking to me about it and helping the people in Guatemala?"
She seemed to bristle but her response was calm and kind. "Well, the Bible commands us..."
Ross cut her off. "No Angela, not the Bible. You."
This made her think for a moment. "Well, I believe in the Bible, so I can't really separate it. I believe that what I'm doing is right. I have faith in it."
"Interesting. I'm not trying to be argumentative but isn't it possible for someone like me to have the same kind of faith that I'm doing the right thing?"
The perplexity on her face was clear. "But Jesus said that he was the way and the life; no one goes to Heaven but through him. Your 'faith' if that's what you call it is just an illusion created by sin and the Devil."
"So, being a good person isn't enough? If I don't hold the token beliefs while being a good person, I'm not worthy enough to God?"
"You can't be a good person without loving Jesus Christ," she argued.
"That seems like a harsh attitude toward the billions of people that have never heard of him."
Her flippant shrug made his eyes narrow. "I have faith that God knows what he is doing."
Without saying another word Ross removed his half-heated lunch from the microwave and left the break room. He wasn't looking forward to their next conversation on the topic but he was sure there would be one.