Leonardo da Vinci was perhaps the greatest artist of the period in history known as the Renaissance. He was born in Italy, where he lived and worked most of his life. When he was an old man, the king of France invited him to live in his country. King Francis I promised that he would provide for all his needs. Da Vinci accepted this generous offer, and with three paintings, a few belongings and one apprentice he left for his new home. The king gave him living quarters in a castle not far from Paris.
King Francis I did not require much work of his renowned guest. Once Leonardo staged a great reception with lots of artwork in honor of a royal family member, but for the most part his last years were quiet ones. Toward the end of Leonardo’s life, King Francis I made it a habit to pay the painter visits. The king of France enjoyed talking with da Vinci like a friend on many subjects.
A legend has it that one day King Francis came to visit his friend and discovered Leonardo was dying. Leonardo had lain in bed all day, unable to move, but in honor of his royal guest he tried to sit up! The king looked on the struggling Leonardo with pity and then sat down on the side of the bed. He put his arm tenderly around Leonardo to support him. While the king held him, Leonardo confessed to wasting much of his life and his talent. Then he died in the arms of the king.
The story may be only a legend, but it is based on the fact that the king of France was very fond of the great painter and paid him frequent visits. Like Leonardo, we too will have to pass out of this scene. “Prepare to meet thy God,” the prophet Amos cried, and it would be wise if we obeyed his admonition. We need to get ready for our final departure from this world.
We may not die in the arms of a king of a great country, but each one of us, by God’s grace, when we die can enter with joy into the presence of the great King of the universe.
Who is the King of the universe? He is the Lord Jesus Christ, “who is the blessed and only Potentate [Monarch], the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:1515Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; (1 Timothy 6:15)).
King Francis might have been a ruler over millions of people and able to command armies to do his will, but he was just as powerless as the poorest beggar in his kingdom when it came to forgiving sins committed against God. Forgiveness can be obtained only through the Lord Jesus. The Bible says of all those who believe in Him, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
The sin which would have barred forever our entrance into heaven’s glories can be washed away by the Savior’s blood. The wonderful truth for everyone who believes on God’s Son is that they are saved for time and eternity. They receive the gift of forgiveness of sins not for any good qualities they might possess, but because they have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross. And being saved, when they pass out of this world, they will enter into the presence of their Lord who loved them and gave Himself for them.
The sad truth for all those who never come to repentance and faith in Christ is that they will be lost for all eternity. Sin is a terrible thing because it has the power to sink people into hell. It is not the harmless plaything many people would like to believe that it is. There is no such thing as “little” sins; all sin is really an affront to the majesty of God. It is really saying to Him, “You are not the Supreme Being in the universe! I am just as competent to know right and wrong as You, and therefore I can choose to do whatever I want.” Sin brings about a state of separation from God, and its final end for those who continue in it is to be separated from Him forever in a place of eternal punishment.
What a bleak future awaits those who never see their need of salvation! A criminal might receive a prison sentence for a number of years and stagger under the weight of his punishment. But what will it be for you if you never come to the Lord Jesus, when you pass out of this world and you stand before the great Judge, and you hear Him say, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:4141Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25:41)). How will you feel at that moment when you realize your sentence isn’t in terms of years or even lifetimes, but of a never-ending eternity?
No one needs to perish. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)).
At the cross the Lord Jesus made the supreme sacrifice that we might be forgiven-“Christ died for our sins”! Don’t trifle with sin, but repent of it and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to have those sins washed away.
According to the legend, Leonardo died in the arms of a great king. Not long ago we heard of a young man who suffered a fatal fall while rock-climbing. Known as a sincere believer, it was said of him, “He fell from the rocks-into the arms of the Lord Jesus!” It was not a sad ending to his story, but a glorious new beginning. Won’t you accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior so that if death takes you, you will enter into His wonderful presence? It is no legend, but truth-that Jesus Christ died, rose again and now waits to receive all those who believe in Him in this life to heaven above. What a moment that will be for every believer! Sorrow and death will flee away, and they will enter with joy into the presence of their Lord and Savior, never to part from Him again. Don’t miss it for anything in this world! Place your trust in Him now, even before you lay down this little booklet. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”