I have met some boys and girls, and some big folks too, who feel that they do not need to be saved because they have never committed any “big sins.” Do you suppose this is right? They sometimes feel that if they only tell little lies, and don’t swear too often, and don’t grow up to rob and steal, they are quite good enough for heaven, and really don’t need to worry about their sins at all.
One day as I was traveling by train, we stopped at a town where there were a great many tracks beside us. On one of those tracks stood a long line of cars full of coal. Some were filled with huge black chunks of coal, bigger than I had ever seen before. Others were filled with smaller ones, such as we used to see at home. And then there were coal cars filled with such fine bits that it looked almost like coarse sand from where I was sitting.
This reminded me of our sins. Some folks commit very big sins. Perhaps everyone hears about it, and they exclaim, “How terrible! I would never do a thing like that!” Other folks commit a great many smaller sins, and some people think their sins are so small that they are scarcely sins at all.
But let us see what God has to say.
In the sight of God, sin is sin, whether we consider them little sins or big sins. No, it is solemnly true that God cannot allow one sin to enter heaven. And it is blessedly true that the blood of His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, can wash them all away.
All those black lumps were coal, and the size of the lumps didn’t make them any cleaner either! Right now as you read this paper, your heart is either stained with many sins in the sight of a holy God, or washed whiter than snow in the blood of His dear Son. If you had slipped away into eternity last night, where would you be now? If there were sin stains on your heart, you would be lost forever, instead of reading this paper telling of God’s gracious offer of pardon.
Don’t wait any longer, but own before God just what a sinner you are, and accept His dear Son as your own Saviour.
ML 05/13/1956