One hot summer day, Peter and Mike took a raft and headed for their favorite water hole. It was a pond that had been formed by damming off part of a curve of a river. There had been a lot of rain and the pond was full.
Peter and Mike weren’t concerned about anything as they shoved off from shore to explore on the pond. They were having a great time out in the middle of the pond, when suddenly they realized they could not control their raft. The rain-swollen river had overflowed the dam, and the pond, they now realized, was part of the swollen, rushing river. The current was carrying their raft away from their friendly pond to the danger of a flooded river!
Children, do you know that if you have not accepted the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, you are in danger far worse than Peter and Mike? We are coming very close to the time when the Lord Jesus will come to take those who love Him safely home to heaven. The Bible warns that the people left here in the world will be carried into a period of time that will become terrible and difficult.
Peter realized they could not pole their raft back to shore because of the strong current. Their only way to shore was to swim. He said, “Mike, we gotta swim for shore or we’ll never make it!” and then dove into the water to swim with all his might.
Peter did not know it, but Mike could not swim! Mike knew he would soon be in real trouble if he stayed on the raft, but he also knew he could easily drown if he jumped off. What a decision Mike had to make! He decided to jump off the raft.
As the water closed over his head and the current dragged him to the bottom of the pond, he was sure he was going to drown. But when he touched bottom, he knew which way to head for the shore which was not far away, so he frantically crawled along the bottom of the pond as fast as he could.
Peter swam safely to shore. He did not know where Mike was, but as he crawled out of the water, Mike crawled out about the same time. Peter thought Mike had been swimming to shore just as he had!
Mike did not tell Peter for many years what had really happened. There are boys and girls just like Mike who don’t want their parents or friends to know that they have never really accepted the Lord Jesus as their Saviour. They sing the songs at Sunday school, and they say their prayers at night, but they have never trusted the Lord Jesus to wash away their sins.
Mike had a choice to reach safety - ride the raft or jump off. Both choices were dangerous. But there is only one way to go to heaven, and it is completely safe. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man [comes] unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)). Won’t you come to that loving Father today, by believing that the Lord Jesus suffered for your sins on the cross? “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)).
ML-04/27/1997