Pancho was a teenage native who lived in one of the Indian tribes in the jungles of Venezuela. An 18-year-old living where Pancho lived has a different life than most of us have. For instance, he could not just go to the refrigerator, pantry or store to get food to eat. He had to go out and hunt or fish for it. As a young man he spent many hours hunting and fishing for the food and clothing his family needed.
One day Pancho prepared his canoe to go fishing. (He did not use a hook and line like some of us use. Instead, he used a long spear with a line attached, called a harpoon.) It was a pretty morning, cool and quiet. It only took a short time to check his knives, lines and harpoon. He was not going fishing for just any kind of fish. Pancho was one of the few skilled fishermen who knew how to catch the “paiche,” a fish that is actually a freshwater mammal. He knew that these fish grew very large, some weighed over a hundred pounds!
A few strong pulls with his pale took the canoe into the current of the river. The current would carry him along so he did not have to paddle, but could pay full attention to the surface of the river. With his harpoon in hand ready to throw, Pancho looked for the air bubbles that any mammal under water must release from time to time.
The water was not clear enough to see the fish, but paiche fishermen learn from experience how deep and how far they must plunge their harpoons. If they are able to spear the fish, the fight begins. The strong line attached to the end of the harpoon is used to help bring the fish into the boat. A big paiche will fight for a long time.
As the morning got warmer Pancho, still watching, began to relax and his mind wandered to other things. One of these thoughts, which he did not like, kept coming back even though he tried to forget about it. A missionary had explained to Pancho that he was a sinner and needed to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour.
As Pancho thought about what the missionary had told him, he became more upset. “Is there not plenty of time to ask Jesus to save me?” he thought. He admitted that he was a sinner. He knew it would be good to have those sins forgiven and not be afraid to die or to meet God. “But I’m still young and strong,” he argued with himself. “I don’t need to be saved now. I’ll wait until I am old.”
Bubbles! Pancho stiffened to attention. His hand gripped the smooth surface of the harpoon, every muscle tensed as he watched. More bubbles! Pancho’s harpoon hissed into the water as he threw it with all his strength. Moments after the harpoon disappeared below the surface, the rope grew taut. Pancho knew he had made a strike!
Then it happened! Pancho never knew exactly how. Somehow, the heavy line from the harpoon had looped around his ankle. When it tightened around his leg the jerk pulled him off balance, toppling him into the water. In terror Pancho found himself being dragged through the water by the huge fish. Frantically he struggled with the line, but it only seemed to tighten more.
As he swirled helplessly through the water, his lungs crying for air, Pancho’s past life and many of his sins flashed through his mind. His greatest sin of all seemed to be in not receiving the great gift of salvation while there had still been time. In his mind he called upon the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive his sins and save him.
Suddenly, he was free—the line was gone! He struggled to the surface and gasped for air. “Thank you, Lord Jesus,” he cried.
That night as Pancho sat with his family, friends and the missionary, he told them the whole story. They could see a change in him and knew it was not just the relief of escaping death. Life in the jungle had many dangers. The firelight reflected the glow in his eyes. Pancho was saved twice—first from his sins and, send, from drowning. He had called upon the Name of the Lord Jesus to forgive his sins and then became one for whom Christ died.
Pancho came very close to putting off God’s offer of salvation once too often. He almost died without hang his sins forgiven. If that had happened Pancho would have been lost forever, to be punished for those sins in hell. Instead, he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, believing that Jesus had died for his sins.
We hope that each one of you realize that you are a sinner and have trusted the Lord Jesus to forgive your sins before it is too late.
ML-05/02/1982