Mr. King did not like to read. Before he and his wife were married, he enjoyed reading her letters and even wrote some to her, because they lived far away from each other. But now they were married, and he no longer felt the need to read her letters. When she was away on trips with their children, he sometimes put her letters away without reading them. Perhaps Mrs. King never would have guessed this, but one letter to him that he didn’t read caused the whole family a great deal of distress.
It was winter and Mrs. King and their two children took a train trip to visit her parents who lived a long distance away. Before they left to return home, Mrs. King wrote her husband a letter to tell him that there had been a change in the train schedule. She wanted him to know that they would have to get off the train at a different station and on a different day.
Mrs. King and the children got on the train that day, excited to be returning home. The trip went smoothly, and they got off in the place that she had written about. Mrs. King quickly saw that there was only a very small and very cold train station and a tavern. They were hoping to see Mr. King, but, of course, he wasn’t there—he hadn’t read her letter. A mother with young children had no reason to want to go into a tavern, but neither did she or the children want to wait in the cold train station. Soon she had no choice.
Mrs. King and the children walked through the cold winter night to the tavern where they could get warm while they waited. There they sat and waited ... and waited ... and waited. She kept wondering why Mr. King wasn’t there to meet them. He must have read her letter!
A very special letter has been written to you too. God has written it, and it is far more important than any other letter written to you. His letter is called the Bible, and it has some very important information for you. He writes that He loves you very, very much and has a wonderful home in heaven for you and anyone else who would like to live there when life here on earth is over.
However, God explains that there can be no sin whatsoever in heaven, so sinners who are still in their sins cannot go to heaven. Long ago, God and His Son Christ Jesus made a plan whereby sinners could be set free from their sins, but it was going to cost Jesus His life. He volunteered to go to Calvary’s cross and pay the price for the sins of every sinner who would believe and by faith accept Him as their very own Saviour. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)). Not only would they be set free from their sins, but also their names would be written down in His book of life.
God’s letter to you also has a warning. For those people who will not read His letter or refuse to admit that they are sinners in need of a Saviour, there is a very unhappy place reserved for them after they leave this world. The Bible calls it “the lake of fire” where they will spend eternity, because they refused to believe that Jesus loves them and died to save them. Their names are not written in His book of life. The Bible clearly says, “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:1515And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)). What needless loss and great unhappiness for sinners who have refused God’s love and forgiveness! All because they didn’t feel the need to read God’s letter and follow His directions.
And Mrs. King did not know that her husband had not read her letter. As a result, he was quite unaware of their problems. He was sound asleep in bed at home, the unread letter safe in the house.
Finally, Mrs. King called him, and he had to come in the middle of the cold night to pick up a very unhappy wife and children. All the information for their arrival had been included in his wife’s letter, but he had not read it—and so he was not ready for their return.
I hope as you read the Kings’ story, you will think about what God has written to you—that He loves you and wants to set you free from your sins so that you will have a place reserved in heaven. You have to make the choice—heaven or the horrors of the lake of fire. Which will you choose?
ML-07/29/2012