A party of campers in the summertime found a fine spot for their tents on a beautiful green terrace quite near the old village church. It was all so peaceful as they enjoyed their supper in the evening sunshine.
When they settled down for the night the village was so quiet after the noise and traffic of the city they had left.
They soon found one unexpected snag, however—the clock on the church tower just beside them struck every hour through the night—and every quarter hour, too! It was not surprising that hardly anyone slept much that night. Just as they were nodding off, the clock would strike another hour or another quarter.
When morning came, they all stirred themselves, and after breakfast they started to explore the countryside. As they were having supper that evening, one of them said: “I s’pose we’ll have another sleepless night,” but they couldn’t do anything about it then, so turned in. They heard the old clock chime away until about midnight. Then, whether it was the country air or because they were extra tired, no one knows, but they slept quite well.
The next night they were completely oblivious—they all slept soundly and took no notice of the clock and its chimes. It still told out the time throughout the night, and it was just as close to them; yet none of them heard it!
Do you know, dear boys and girls, that it can be like that with the gospel? God has been speaking to children, young folks and older ones faithfully down through the years. And He is speaking to you now as you read this story, reminding you that if you are unsaved, you need salvation, and that “now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Perhaps you are thinking, “Oh, I’ve heard all that,” and you close your mind to it. But if you don’t stop and listen now, it will make less and less impression as you get older, until you fail to hear it altogether, and so you miss the most important and precious thing in all your life.
What is it that God wants you to hear? Is it something that will take the joy out of your life? No, indeed! Rather it will put true joy and happiness into your soul. God’s message is that He loves you, and that He sent His dear Son into this world to be your Saviour. For your sins are not only making you unhappy and miserable, but you have no power to free yourself from their power. Jesus died to save you from the judgment your sins deserve, to take away all your guilt and fear, give you joy and peace with God instead, and make your life really worthwhile.
Here are three chimes on His clock, so listen to them now:
ML-10/14/1979