We were on a trip and stopped for the night in Emporia, Kansas. I always get up early and like to take an early morning walk. This time I stopped in for a cup of coffee at a service station and convenience store that stayed open all night.
A young man named Gary was the night attendant at the store. At that early hour there were no other customers in the store, so he was not busy. This made it possible for us to visit while I was buying my cup of coffee.
As we exchanged greetings, I noticed quite a fancy motorbike in the service bay of the station. When asked if it were his, Gary, very ready to talk about his bike, said, “Yes, it is an old one, but it can run with the best of them.” He did not leave any doubt that he was very proud of his bike.
Wondering if this young man had trusted the Lord Jesus as his Saviour, I said, “I’m sure you’re right, but it cannot take you to heaven, unless someone hits you with a car and sends you into eternity. Have you settled the issue of where you will spend eternity?”
Gary replied, “I’m afraid so.”
His using the word “afraid” gave me a hint that perhaps he was not pleased with his decision about eternity. I was “afraid” that he may not have really settled the important matter of where he would be if he should be called into eternity. It also made me wonder whether or not Gary knew how to get to heaven to spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus is now in heaven, but while He was here in the world, He said, “Ye . . . shall die in your sins: [where] I go, ye cannot come” (John 8:2121Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come. (John 8:21)).
Gary was willing to visit and did not seem to resent my questions. Continuing our conversation, I asked, “Do you know how to get to heaven?”
His quick reply was, “It is sure not by giving money to some preacher. That much I know.”
I asked him then, “How do you think you could be ready for heaven if you should pass into eternity?”
It was very sad to hear Gary say, “I believe if you treat everyone right, like you want to be treated, everything will be all right.”
It is always good to treat people kindly and to do what is right, but these things will not let anyone into heaven. The Bible says, “Not by works of righteousness [good works] which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:55Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5)). For you and me to be ready for heaven, we must have our sins washed away. The Bible tells us how this is done: “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (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)). I may never see Gary again in this world. Only eternity will tell whether or not he believed the truth of God’s love he heard that morning. We pray that he heard the voice of the Lord Jesus in the Bible verses given to him. The Lord Jesus said, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live” (John 5:2525Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25)).
Now I ask you, Have you believed on the Lord Jesus? Have you accepted Him as your Saviour? Just as I had the joy of telling Gary that God loved him, I can tell you that He loves you too. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross, to suffer all God’s judgment for the sins of everyone who believes. The Lord Jesus, by dying, did all the work that makes it possible for God to forgive all the sins of every boy and girl, every man or woman, who believes on Him. The Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and is now in heaven.
He is about to come again to take all His own to heaven to be with Him forever. He has made the way open for Gary and for each one of you to come to Him for the forgiveness of your sins. Won’t you do that right now? There are many boys and girls very much like you who have already made that decision. They can tell you that you will never be sorry when you decide to take the Lord Jesus as your Saviour.
ML-10/27/1996