“I have a lighter here,” the teacher said to the class as he held up the slender tube. It was one of those lighters you could use to start a campfire or light a kerosene stove. The teacher flicked the switch and said, “See, it’s only a little flame, just a very small one. I wonder if I could have some volunteers to hold their fingers in this tiny flame for five minutes?
There were no volunteers.
The teacher put his own finger in the flame for a second or less. That was enough for him. He flicked the switch again, and the flame was gone.
But there is a fire that lasts forever. It’s not just a tiny flame, but a whole lake full of fire—fire that shall never be put out! God has written, “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:1515And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)). How awful!
Is your name written in God’s book of life? If not, perhaps you are asking, “How do you get it written there?” There is only one way. You must truthfully admit to the Lord Jesus that you are a guilty sinner and want Him to save you—to wash you completely clean from your sins in His blood. God has written in 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7), “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” It’s time, right now, to make that decision to be saved.
The teacher then told the following story of one who made the wise decision.
When the magnificent ship Titanic began to sink after colliding with an iceberg, there were not nearly enough lifeboats for the passengers and crew. Many people threw themselves into the icy water of the North Atlantic Ocean rather than go down with the ship. Perhaps they thought that somehow they would still be saved from a watery grave ... and some were saved.
One of those swimming in the icy water was John Harper. He swam quickly from one person to another, urging them to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in their last moments of life. He swam up beside one young man and asked, “Are you saved?”
“No,” the young man answered.
John explained, “Do you realize that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross so you could have all your sins forgiven? Won’t you take Him now as your Saviour before it is forever too late?” But the young man wanted nothing to do with the gospel.
John took off his life jacket and passed it to the young man, saying, “Here, take this life preserver. You need it a lot more than I do,” and he swam off to speak to other people about eternity and their never-dying souls.
Before long, he saw the young man again and asked, “Are you saved yet?”
The young man still answered, “No.” But this time he was ready to consider God’s wonderful offer of salvation, and he did accept Jesus as his Saviour. A wise decision, and his name was written in God’s book of life. Later, he was also saved from the water and lived to be a faithful witness of God’s grace.
When the teacher asked for volunteers, no one chose to hold his finger in the flame for even five minutes. Why would you choose to spend eternity in the lake of fire? To refuse Christ’s love and offer of free salvation is to choose such an awful death for eternity.
Will you choose life?
ML-12/27/2009