We were expecting Grandma’s weekly letter to arrive. Mother watched through the living room window as the mailman came up the front walk. He dropped one envelope through the letter slot in the door. Mother saw it fall to the floor, and she walked quickly over to pick it up - but no letter was to be seen! She knew it had to be there, because she had seen it! Looking closely at the floor, she discovered a crack just at the edge of the door frame. I brought her a flashlight, and shining it down the crack we could see Grandma’s letter.
She tried so hard to get it out, but the crack was too narrow for even tweezers to grasp the letter. She finally gave up and waited for Dad to come home from work. As soon as he came in, she told him about the letter.
Dad worked and worked, trying to get the letter out of the crack. He was able to move it with a thin wire, but he couldn’t grasp it or snag it on a hook. He finally had to make the crack a little wider with a wedge. And what do you think he found? He found not just one letter, but several pieces of mail! Some of them looked like they had been there for a long time.
The whole family watched while Mother and Dad opened the mail they had just found. Some pieces were advertisements now almost ten years old! It was surprising to see how prices had gone up in the ten years the mail had been down the crack.
The most interesting piece of mail was for me. It was six years old and was from my best friend. It was an invitation to her house for a party!
I know about a wonderful letter which also has an invitation in it. Maybe this letter is lying somewhere in your home and you have never read it. This letter I’m talking about is the Bible, which contains God’s loving invitation to spend eternity with Him in heaven. He tells us how much He loves us and wants us to live with Him forever. He also tells us about the wonderful home He has prepared for us.
The Bible also tells us that no sin can ever enter God’s wonderful home (Revelation 21:2727And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:27)). It also tells us how Jesus came down to earth and died for sinners. He rose again from the dead, and He is now in heaven waiting for us. He has sent this invitation for us to believe Him and come to live with Him in heaven when our life on earth is over.
Have you answered this invitation? I did not accept my friend’s party invitation because I did not receive it in time. But can you say that? You have probably heard God’s invitation before, and He is waiting for your answer right now. We do not know how long He will offer this invitation. Tomorrow may be too late. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)).
ML-08/11/1996