(041)
THE
TEN VIRGINS
At an Eastern wedding long
ago ten virgins were invited to the feast. Each
had a lighted lamp with which to meet the bridegroom.
He however, was delayed, and while the virgins waited, sleep overcame them.
Suddenly
at midnight they were awakened by a cry, "The bridegroom is coming."
Quickly they began to trim the lamp wicks, and then it was discovered that
five of the lamps had no oil. The owners
tried to buy oil from the other five virgins, but were advised to go to the oil
merchant, because to try to spread the remaining oil over the additional five lamps
would possibly result in a shortage for all of them.
They
accordingly hurried off to buy oil, but while they were gone the bridegroom arrived,
and the remaining five went in with him to the wedding feast. The other five, returning after the feast had begun, were refused
admission, Matthew, chapter 25, verses 1-13.
The
Lord Jesus Christ used this parable to illustrate the truth relative to the kingdom
of heaven. He Himself is the One
represented by the bridegroom. Like the
bridegroom of the parable, He too is coming back to lead a multitude of guests into
His wedding feast in heaven; and like the ten virgins, many profess to be waiting for
His coming, but as it was in the parable, so will it be in reality: only those who
have the spiritual counterpart of the oil-filled lamp, will go in to that wedding
feast, for as the bridegroom and the virgins of the parable are used symbolically, so
also are the lamps and the oil.
Those
ten virgins represent all who profess to be Christians, and the lamps are the symbols
of those professions. The oil however,
is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and as it was in the parable, so is it also in
reality: not all who profess faith in Christ are Christians.
The genuine Christian is the man or woman who has had a second
birth, that is, who is willing to admit that he is a sinner who believes that pardon
for those sins is available only to those who believe that when Jesus Christ died on
the cross it was to make atonement by dying as their Substitute, in their place.
That act of faith constitutes the new spiritual birth, which Christ Himself
declared to be absolutely essential for all who would be saved from hell and fitted
for heaven, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ....Ye
must be born again" (John 3:3-7).
The
instant that new birth takes place, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that
believer's body, as Paul assured the Corinthian believers, "... your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost" (1 Corinthians 6:19).
As the oil is essential if the lamp is to give light, so is the indwelling
Holy Spirit essential to those who would be witnesses for Christ, dispelling
spiritual darkness, and leading men and women to Him as their Savior.
As
a professing Christian, you are represented by those ten virgins, but
as a genuine "born-again" believer you are represented only by the five who
had oil in their lamps, for unless you have been born again you are represented by
the five who had lamps, but who lacked the oil without which the lamps were useless.
Without that essential new spiritual birth, you will have the experience of
the five who were denied admission to the feast, but the parable cannot even begin to
depict the terrible reality of such a rejection, for to be denied admission to heaven
is to be consigned, first to hell, and then following the resurrection of death, to
the eternal torment of the lake of fire, see Revelation chapter 20.
The
fact that they were all virgins, points symbolically to the moral integrity that
marks the lives of many who profess to be Christians, but who have never been born
again. Morality is not to be mistaken
for the new birth. At the
"midnight" hour, when Christ returns, or the end of earthly life comes,
what matters is not whether you have been moral and religious, but whether you have
been born again through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior.
The
refusal of the five to supply oil for the lamps of their companions is the
demonstration of the truth that salvation is a personal matter.
No one can exercise saving faith on behalf of another. A believing parent can't believe for his child, nor can a
believing wife exercise faith for her unbelieving husband.
Each individual is responsible to personally accept or reject
God's gift of eternal life. Those who
trust in Jesus Christ as Savior will enter heaven.
All others will be consigned to the eternal torment of the lake of fire.
******
(042)
THE
LOST BIRTHRIGHT
One
day long ago a hunter faint with hunger, came into camp where his brother was boiling
pottage. The hunter was the firstborn in
that family, and as such possessed a birthright which, at his father's death, would
have brought him wealth, position, power - all that one could desire; but the day of
his father's death seemed a long way off, and as he stood there feeling the pangs of
hunger, though he was not at the point of death, he said, "Behold, I am at the
point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?" (Genesis
25:29-34), and in obedience to his own false reasoning, " (... for one morsel of
meat sold his birthright" (Hebrews 12:16), "thus Esau despised his
birthright."
Years
passed, and the day came for the possessor of the birthright to inherit its
blessings. Esau, pretending that it was
still his, attempted to have his father confer the blessing upon him; but God
intervened, and ensured that the blessing was given to Jacob, who, through his
purchase of it from Esau, was the rightful owner of the birthright.
Esau,
discovering too late, the enormity of his folly in having sold the birthright
"Cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry" and pleaded "Hast thou
but one blessing, my father? .... And Esau lifted up his voice and
wept" (Genesis 27:34-38); the New Testament adding the further comment that
"when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no
place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears"
(Hebrews 12:17).
It's
easy to pass judgment on Esau, and brand him a fool, but before passing that
judgment, we should be sure that we aren't guilty of even greater foolishness.
Every firstborn in Israel had a similar birthright, but in the Bible, the
firstborn represents us as we are by natural birth.
We too have a God-given birthright - the right to choose where we will be
eternally, that birthright having been graciously given because natural
birth has bequeathed to us the legacy of death.
We are born sinners, doomed at the end of life to enter hell, and then, at the
resurrection of death, to be consigned to the eternal torment of the lake of fire.
It is to make escape possible that God has given each of us the
"birthright" of choice, so that we may choose heaven instead of the lake of
fire.
To
exercise that birthright, and enjoy the eternal blessings of heaven rather than the
eternal torment of the lake of fire, is unbelievably simple. How is it done? I
must be willing to admit that I am a sinner, and therefore unfit for
heaven. That admission must be followed
by repentance, and faith to believe that when Jesus Christ died on the cross it was
in my place for my sins. Genuine
repentance however goes beyond mere lip confession of sorrow.
It impels the penitent believer to forsake sin so that it becomes accidental
rather than habitual. He who professes
to be a believer, yet habitually practices sin, is a liar, for the one is a
contradiction of the other.
With
escape from eternal torment, and the guarantee of eternal blessing so simple, why
then are so few saved? There may be many
reasons, but two stand out. First, the
natural man is extremely reluctant to admit that he is a sinner, for every man
believes that he has some righteousness.
God says "There is none righteous, no, not one ... there is none
that doeth good, no, not one .... For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God" (Romans 3:10-12,23). And second, the natural man is equally reluctant to believe
that Christ's death is sufficient to secure pardon for sin apart from any good works
the man himself might do. God says
"By grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast"
(Ephesians 2:8-9); and again "Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to his mercy he saved us" (Titus 3:5).
The
busy pursuit of the world's wealth, fame, pleasure, etc., also keeps men from even considering
where they will spend eternity. The
folly of that busyness will be fully known in eternity when it is too late.
Esau's "great and exceeding bitter cry" will be echoed throughout
eternity by the myriads in the lake of fire who on earth were too busy and too
unbelieving to realize that they were selling their "birthright," and their
souls, for things just as worthless as the dish of pottage for which Esau sold his.
******
(043)
THE
LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER
Many
years ago the keeper of a lighthouse on an island a few miles off a rugged coast was
given money each month to buy oil for the light.
He had been warned frequently that this money was never to be used for any
other purpose. He was fond of gambling
however, and sometimes borrowed the oil money till he received his pay.
This continued for years without discovery.
Then one winter afternoon he was brought to face the results of his folly.
His borrowing had so reduced the oil money that month that he
had been able to fill only one of three storage tanks, and now, coming to draw a
supply for the light, he discovered that a leak had drained the tank.
Nightfall
was scarcely an hour away, and he knew that he must get to the mainland for oil even
though the return trip would have to be made in the dark.
As he looked at the lowering sky, and sullen heavy waves, he realized that he
was taking his life in his hands. On the
other hand, if the authorities found the lighthouse lamp out, he would lose his job.
Then, too, there was the possibility that a ship might be wrecked without the
guiding beams of the island light.
Next
morning the winter sun shone on tragedy. Bodies
lay strewn among the rocks, and among them was that of the lighthouse keeper.
He had drowned when his boat capsized, and without the warning beam of the
lighthouse, a ship had foundered on the treacherous rocks.
This
could be a picture of your own life spiritually, for if you haven't accepted Jesus
Christ as your Savior, then you have gambled with something more precious than money:
time that God has given you to prepare for eternity; time in which to repent of your
sins, and save your soul by trusting in Christ.
God
warns, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God" (Matthew 6:33).
Have you instead borrowed that time to live to please yourself,
with never a thought given to where your soul will be eternally?
One
day you will find the "oil" of life run out.
On that day you will have to leave this island of time, and cross to eternity
through the waters of death.
Will
that day find that those waters have overwhelmed you, casting your lost soul, not
only upon the shore of eternity, but into hell; or will you be found in Christ, safe
in heaven for all eternity? Where your
soul will be eternally is your choice. To
enter hell you have simply to continue as you are, for all are born on the road to
hell; but to enter heaven you have only to admit that you are a sinner without one
shred of righteousness, and believe that when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross
it was in your place, for your sins. That
repentant confession, and that faith in Christ, are all you need to save your soul,
and assure you of heaven.
Trust
Christ today, and let the light of eternal life shine out of your life to show others
the way to heaven. Continue to reject
Him as your Savior, and the end of life will find your soul lost eternally, together
with the souls of those you might have guided to heaven, but have
instead influenced by your example, and led behind you into hell.
******
(044)
DYING
OF THIRST
In
the days of sailing ships, a vessel was blown off course in a storm. Due to a broken rudder, she drifted helplessly for many days, and
eventually the fresh water supply was exhausted, leaving the few men aboard to face
death from thirst. Hope of rescue had
been almost abandoned when another vessel appeared on the horizon, and as soon as it
came within hailing distance, the first words from the captain of the crippled craft
were, "Water! We need drinking
water. We're almost dead of thirst.
Back
came the startling reply, "Lower your bucket where you are.
You're sailing in fresh water."
Without
knowing it, they had drifted into the current from the Amazon river whose fresh water
extends far out of sight of land before being lost in the salt water of the ocean.
The
literal plight of those on the crippled boat is like the spiritual condition of many
on the sea of life today. They too are
drifting, toward eternity, carried along helplessly by time and the circumstances of
life, as helpless to stay the one as they are to control the other - their
destination (though they seldom give it even a thought) the vast, immeasurable
endlessness that follows the few brief years of life here on earth.
And as they drift, they too thirst, not for water, but for happiness and
peace, having been deluded by the universal philosophy that these things are to be
found in the possession of money, enjoyment of pleasure, achievement of fame, etc.,
even though the testimony of those who have these things is that they don't
bring happiness and peace. The rich and
famous, in fact, search for these blessings just as desperately as do the destitute.
But
in the midst of earth's dissatisfied, searching multitudes, there are a few who have
discovered the secret that has eluded the rest of humanity.
Like those on that drifting boat who discovered that what they needed was all
around them, they too have discovered that what they had been searching for
desperately was all around them, waiting to be appropriated, and in such abundance
that the supply could never be exhausted.
The
transformation began when they believed the Gospel, and realized that their need was
not for money or pleasure, but to have their sins forgiven, and that the only way to
have that experience was to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, believing that when He
died on the cross it was in their place, for their sins.
One
such finder was a woman living in Sychar two thousand years ago.
Coming to the town well to draw water, she met Jesus, willingly agreed with
His assessment of her sinful state, and believed Him when He said, "If thou
knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink; thou
wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (John
4:10). As He continued, "Whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I
shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life," she responded, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not"
(John 4:14-15).
Believing
that He was the Son of God come down to earth to give His life a ransom for men's
souls, she confessed that she was a sinner in desperate need of that ransom; and by
that honest confession, and faith in Him as her Savior, she passed spiritually that
day from death to life.
You
too can pass from death to live by the same process: honest acknowledgement that you
are a sinner whose salvation is impossible apart from the faith to believe that when
Christ died on the cross it was in your place, as your Substitute, for your sins.
That faith, ignored by millions, but exercised by a few, is all that is needed
to bring you the assurance of pardon for every sin, the certainty of heaven instead
of hell as your eternal destination - and here on earth, the happiness and peace
sought in vain by the multitudes who believe mistakenly that money, pleasure, etc.,
are what they need.
"For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life .... He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:16,36).
******
(045)
A
FREE INSURANCE POLICY
There
are insurance policies to meet every eventuality of life, but all of them have two
common characteristics (1) they have a price, and
(2) while there is protection available from the cradle to the grave, there is
none beyond the grave.
There
is however an insurance policy that does go beyond the grave, is
absolutely free, and pays dividends, not only while you live, but after you die.
Yet strangely, very few people bother to obtain it, though many of those who
ignore it are paying high prices for protection most of them will never need, e.g.,
fire insurance. The proportion of homes that do burn down is
infinitesimal compared to those that don't.
The
insurance of which I write is that offered by God as a free gift, and it is
free, not because it has little worth, but because it is of such worth that no man
could buy it - it is the insurance for your soul which is worth more than all the
gold and silver in the world, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the
whole world, and lose his own soul? Or
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37).
Think for a moment, Just what would you be willing to accept for your life?
In Job 2:4 it is written "All that a man hath will he give for his
life." There is nothing for which
you would willingly sell your life, but do you realize that your soul is worth
infinitely more than your life, for your soul will continue to exist for ever
after your life has ended?
The
salvation of your soul is offered as God's gift, not because that salvation is
of little worth, but because its value is so great that only God could provide it,
and at terrible cost: the death of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.
His death on Calvary's cross was the redemption price of your soul.
By
accepting God's priceless gift, you have the assurance of pardon for all
your sin, as well as deliverance from anxious care concerning the ordinary affairs of
life; and for eternity, the assurance of blessing so great that "Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath prepared for them that love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Refusal
of this gift however doesn't just put you at risk.
It ensures your eternal condemnation, for God warns "He that believeth
not is condemned already" (John 3:18), and again, "He that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (verse 36).
With
so much to gain by accepting God's gift, and so much to lose by refusing it, why
do so few avail themselves of it? There
are many reasons, but near the top of the list are: (1) men's refusal to admit that
they are sinners who need God's salvation; (2) their insistence upon earning
the right to heaven; (3) their refusal to believe that something so valuable could be
obtained by simply admitting that they are sinners, and believing that when Christ
died on the cross it was as their Substitute; and (4) their refusal to believe that
there is a hell.
Regarding
the first, God declares, "ALL have sinned" (Romans 3:23).
Regarding the second, it is written, "The wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Regarding the third, we read, "God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). And
regarding the fourth, it is Jesus Christ Himself Who warns, ""And if thy
hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than
having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched"
(Mark 9:43).
You
may have insurance to protect you, not only against every eventuality here on earth,
but also to enrich your heirs after your death, but if you haven't accepted God's
free insurance for your soul, you are very perilously under-insured, for that which
is of transcendent value isn't insured at all!
******
(046)
EASTER
Christendom
has just celebrated Easter: the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but a
question few can answer correctly is, Why did Christ die?
The usual response is, "He died for the sin of the world," and in a
sense that's true, but it leaves unanswered the question, What would have happened to
the world if He hadn't died? You see,
when the Bible says that Christ is "The Lamb of God Who beareth away the sin of
the world" (John 1:29), it is talking about the sin of men and women, so that
the question becomes, What would happen to men and women if He hadn't died?
God's answer is that at death their souls would enter hell to await the
resurrection of damnation (John 5:29), resulting in their being cast into the eternal
torment of the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).
The
Bible makes it clear however, that in spite of Christ's having died, many will
have this terrible experience, see John 5:25-29, and Revelation 20:5-6, raising the
question, What makes the difference between those who will enter hell and those who
will enter heaven? The answer is that
there must be faith to believe, not just that Christ died for the sin of the world,
but that He has died in my place, for my sin, to save me from hell, and
fit me for heaven.
That
faith however, requires me to admit that my sin makes me unfit for heaven, leaving
hell as the only other place to which I can go - and that is an admission few are
willing to make. Most people will admit
that they are sinners, but not bad enough for hell, but God says, "All
have sinned, and come short" (Romans 3:23).
Apart from confession of total unfitness for heaven, Christ's death will not
save me; but that confession, together with faith to believe that He has died in my
place, for my sin, brings God's pardon, His gift of eternal life, and assurance of
heaven, as it is written, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life" (John 3:16). "He was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities," because,
"All we like sheep have gone astray ... and the Lord hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:5-6). "While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ... for all have sinned" and "The
wages of sin is death" (Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23).
Believe
today. Tomorrow may be too late!
******
(047)
THE
INDIAN TRAINMAN
This
is a true story. A Christian in India
was about to pray one night, when suddenly an old saying flashed into his mind,
"Prayer cannot do what my feet should have done."
The
words hammered on his brain with such urgency that even though the hour was late, he
felt compelled to go and visit the man for whom he had been about to pray.
The man was a young Indian who worked as an engineer on the railroad.
He welcomed the Christian into his home, and that night he accepted God's gift
of eternal life by simply believing that Christ had died for him.
The
Christian returned to his own home, glad that he had gone, but still wondering at the
peculiar circumstance that had compelled him to pay the visit. It wasn't until a week later however, that he learned the reason.
Returning
from a business trip, he was shocked to learn that the young Indian was dead.
He had died suddenly in the cab of his train while only one station from home.
Then the Christian understood why God had been so urgent about sending him on
the visit that night - a visit he thought could have been made more
conveniently after returning from his business trip.
Had he not gone that night, the young Indian would have gone from time into
eternity without availing himself of God's gift of salvation.
It
is the same sense of urgency that impels the author to print this Gospel message
month after month. I wonder how many of
these messages you have read and lightly dismissed?
Perhaps some of you who read them do realize that you need to be "born
again" spiritually before you can hope to enter heaven, and perhaps you do
intend to be saved before you die. Then I urge you, accept Christ as your Savior now.
You may never have another opportunity. You,
like that young Indian trainman, could die suddenly in the midst of health.
The
Bible warns, "Prepare to meet thy God."
That preparation consists of simply believing that Christ died for you.
"He that believeth on Him (Christ) is not condemned, but he that
believeth not is condemned already" (John 3:18).
******
(048)
FLYING
AGAINST THE WIND
In
the days before jet engines a friend of mine was flying from England to America, but
when the plane was less than half way across, the pilot announced that because of
exceptionally strong head winds they were going to turn back to Shannon, because the
remaining fuel wasn't enough to take them on to Gander.
As
my friend related this incident, and complained of the inconvenience and delay
resulting from the conflict between wind and plane, I was reminded that it was a
perfect illustration of the root cause of all the world's trouble.
It is the result of conflict between man's will and God's.
Had wind and plane been going in the same direction the flight would have gone
smoothly as planned; and were man's will in harmony with God's, man's life would also
flow smoothly.
Had
the pilot of that plane insisted on continuing the flight, he and all aboard would
have perished. So also will the man who
continues in opposition to God, a truth which caused the Apostle Paul to write
"We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you
in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20).
For
the pilot and passengers of that plane, continued flying against the wind would have
resulted in their plunging into the Atlantic. The
man who also continues "to fly against the wind," i.e., who continues to
live in opposition to God, will come to the end of his limited supply of
"fuel" (his allotted life span), and plunge from time into eternity, from
earth to hell.
This
is why the Lord Jesus Christ emphasized the absolute necessity of a new birth,
"Ye must be born again," for "Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:7,3).
That new birth results from a decision very similar to the one made by the
pilot of that plane. It is simply a
decision to turn around, for Christ also declared "Except ye repent, ye shall
all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3), and to repent is simply to have a change of
mind that produces a change in direction.
But
why is it necessary for men to change direction?
Because we are born into this world on what Scripture calls "the broad
way that leadeth to destruction (hell)" (Matthew 7:13). The first step to escape plunging into that terrible place of
torment at the end of life is to believe that we are on that broad way,
and therefore going against God's will, for it is written that God is "not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter
3:9).
Upon
recognizing that we are on that broad way that leads to hell, the next
step is to find out how to change direction, for the same Scripture that tells us we
are on that road that leads to eternal torment, warns us also to "Enter in at
the narrow gate ... because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth
unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).
But
how does one get on to that narrow way that leads to heaven? It's so simple that even a child can understand.
Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6).
His
declaring Himself to be the way, however, doesn't tell us how to get on
to that way; but it is He Himself Who gives that instruction also, for the directions
He gave to the Jewish leader Nicodemus long ago, are addressed to all men, "God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life .... He that believeth on him is not
condemned .... He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ...." (John
3:16,18,36). The Apostle Paul,
responding to the question of the Philippian jailer who cried, "What must I do
to be saved?" said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved" (Acts 16:30-31).
But
that still leaves unanswered the question, "What must I believe
about Jesus Christ in order to be saved? Is
it enough to believe in His birth, sinless life, crucifixion, burial and
resurrection?" And the answer to
that question is NO! In addition to
believing these historical facts relative to Jesus Christ, the man who would be saved
from hell and fitted for heaven, must believe that when Christ died it was as his
Substitute, and for his sins, as Paul declared in Romans 5:8 "God commendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
******
(049)
AND
AFTER THAT?
Asked
what he hopes to do after graduation, a youth usually replies, I hope to find a good
job. And after that? you ask.
I
hope to be successful, get married, have a family.
And after that? you ask.
I
guess I'll retire. And after that?
Why
I guess I'll die. And after that? you ask. Here
the answers cease, or become vague, but there is nothing vague about God's answer,
"As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment; so Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many" Heb 9:27.
But did you know that there are two judgments: the Judgment Seat of Christ,
assuring the individual of heaven, Ro 14:10; and the Great White Throne, Rev 10:11,
assuring the arraigned of eternal torment in the lake of fire?
Do you know at which judgment you will appear?
******
(050)
THE
BRIDGE-KEEPER'S CHOICE
I
cannot recall where I first read the incident related below, nor have I the means of
verifying its veracity, but the inclusion of the names of the people and the place
would indicate that it is true.
Many
years ago Albert Drecker stood at the controls which operated the railroad bridge
over the Passaic river, faced with a heart-breaking decision. The New York train was approaching the bridge which was being
closed after having been opened to permit passage of a ship in the river below, and
struggling in the water was his little son Peter. The child, who had come to see the bridge being closed, had
slipped and tumbled into the river.
A
terrible choice confronted Albert Drecker - hundreds of lives against one, but that
one was his son. In anguish we can't
begin to imagine, he remained at the controls till the bridge closed, and only then
dived into the river - but too late. His
son had drowned while hundreds of passengers, unaware that their lives had been saved
by the death of that child, sped safely across the bridge.
Nearly
two thousand years ago another Father watched His Son die, not to save a train load
of people, but to save a guilty world. The
Son was nailed to a cross, having first been beaten so terribly that "his visage
was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men" (Isaiah
52:14). Those who had beaten and
crucified Him, stood around the cross jeering while He died, yet He Who could have
called legions of angels to His aid (Matthew 26:53), chose rather to invoke blessing
upon those He could have destroyed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not
what they do" (Luke 23:34). The dying man was Christ, the Son of God.
If
the attitude of the passengers on that train had been the same towards his son, as
was that of the mocking multitude towards God's Son, do you suppose that Albert
Drecker would have sacrificed his child to save them?
Would you sacrifice your child to save such vicious ingrates?
Yet God willingly gave His Son, and Christ willing died, that you and I, His
enemies (Romans 5:10), might be saved from hell, and fitted for heaven, "God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
"God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Do
you, I wonder, travel on the railroad of life like the people in that New York train
- oblivious of the fact that one, Christ, has willingly given His life to save you
from hell? The travellers on that train
were unaware that their lives had been bought by the death of Albert Drecker's son,
but surely, had they known, none would have been indifferent.
The
passengers on that train had no choice relative to the safety secured by the death of
Albert Drecker's son; but it is different relative to the salvation secured by the
death of God's Son, Jesus Christ. That
salvation, offered by God as a gift (Romans 6:23), must be accepted personally
by all who would escape hell and enter heaven.
Does
it mean nothing to you that the salvation of your soul has been bought by the death
of God's Son? It means everything to
God. Doesn't it trouble you that your
soul is speeding towards hell, each passing second reducing the time left in which to
save yourself? your time to accept salvation, down perhaps, to a mere few hours, or
minutes? Refusal to believe in Jesus
Christ as your Savior is tantamount to telling God, "I'm indifferent.
Your Son's death means nothing to me."
How will you stand before that same God, as must all men, and explain your
rejection of that sacrifice? What plea
will you present to that same Christ, when He banishes you to eternal torment in the
lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15), a fate from which He died to save you, your
rejection of His sacrifice having rendered it worthless?
"How
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3).
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