It was a beautiful summer morning at the beach. I stepped into the cool ocean water amazed that its surface seemed so calm. I looked forward to a happy day in the water without worrying about the safety of the children, but I didn’t realize that what was beneath the surface was different from what I saw.
We have an unseen enemy of our souls who is quietly working behind the scenes to make people think that all is well with their souls. But Satan is a liar and a deceiver who seeks to hide the seriousness, dangers and eternal consequences of sin.
Though I couldn’t see it, something was terribly wrong under the ocean’s surface that beautiful morning. I saw my granddaughter far ahead of me, already up to her neck in the water. She was not yet a good swimmer, so I called to her to come back. She cried out to me, “I can’t get back, Grampa!”
When I reached her, I felt a strong current pulling us out to sea. I was puzzled, because I’d never had any experience with a riptide. Thankfully, we were able to get into shallow, safe water where the others were who were warned to stay out of deep water.
But then I noticed that my brother-in-law (who was not a strong swimmer) was already very far out, struggling in the water. Wide-eyed with concern, he told me he couldn’t get back to shore. With a silent cry to the Lord Jesus for help, I swam to him. I took his arm, and, with both of us swimming as hard as we could, we finally got back to the shallow water.
But then it was my turn to need help, for I now had a terrible pain in my chest. My brother-in-law helped me to the shore where I sat in the cool water resting. I had been denying for a long time that I had a heart problem, but now it was obvious. Shortly afterwards, I was in a hospital and there received the necessary medical attention my heart required.
There are many thousands of men, women and children who are refusing to admit that they have a heart problem—one that is very different from my physical one, for their problem is sin. They may think, “I’m a good person—better than many. I’ve done my best, so when I die, I’ll go to heaven.”
They ignore God’s Word, which tells us in Jeremiah 17:99The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9), “The heart is deceitful [dishonest] above all things, and desperately wicked.” We also read in Romans 3:10-11 That “there is none righteous, no, not one. . . . There is none that seeketh after God.” And Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23) sums it all up: “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
How foolish it would have been if I had said “no” to the medical treatment I needed!
Have you said “no” to the Lord Jesus? Where you spend eternity depends on your decision.
L. Macy (adapted)