Walter and Virginia Butler, both in their eighties, were awakened before dawn by a crackling noise. Looking out their window they saw orange flames leaping up over the roof of their attached garage. They immediately took the sensible course of action. They called 911 and got out of the burning house.
Minutes later firefighters arrived. Racing against time, they hauled the long hoses out of their truck and attached them to a black and white fire hydrant at the corner of the front yard. The first rays of dawn were illuminating the sky. By this time the fire had spread to the main house. A fireman fitted a large, heavy wrench over the top of the hydrant and threw his body weight on it to open the valve and release the flow of water. To the dismay of the firefighters, nothing happened when the valve was opened. There was no water in the hydrant. It turns out that the hydrant they were depending on to supply water to fight the fire was a lawn ornament placed on the premises by the Butlers for the sole purpose of decoration.
The firefighters had wasted precious minutes. Quickly they hooked up the hose to a real supply of water. However, it was too late to save the Butlers’ house. It was completely destroyed by fire.
An ornamental fire hydrant might have looked nice as a lawn decoration, but in the crisis of a house fire, firefighters need a genuine hydrant that pumps water.
Lots of people are making token acknowledgments of God in their lives. These token acknowledgements come far short of genuine faith in Jesus Christ as the only Saviour for sinners. “I believe in God my own way.” “I go to church.” “I support relief efforts for the downtrodden.” You might hear people say these and many similar things, as if doing such things were an ornament to beautify and add meaning to their lives. But unless they have come to the point of seeing themselves as sinners on the way to hell and have turned by faith to the Lord Jesus for salvation, such token acknowledgments will, in the end, do them little good. Just like the ornamental hydrant on the Butlers’ lawn, they will prove to be worthless when needed the most.
Beware! Very few of us will go through the ordeal of a house fire, but all of us will have to be dealt with by God about our sins. There is an impending crisis ahead for each person who remains in his or her sins. Sin has more than natural consequences in this life; it has eternal consequences as well. Those who die in their sins will be cast out of God’s presence forever: “Cast . . . the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:3030And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:30)).
A superficial acknowledgment of God won’t save you from the punishment sins deserve. What you need is repentance and faith in Christ. In the depth of your soul, you need to turn from the sin which will destroy you and, instead, turn by faith to the Saviour of sinners.
It won’t do to have a token relationship with God. At the cross the Lord suffered untold agony to put sins away. He went into death so that sinners might not have to die and pay that fearful punishment for sin. The sins of those who believe in Christ are blotted out of God’s sight forever. He rose again, walked on earth and ascended into heaven so that sinners who believe on Him might have the assurance that the gift of eternal life will last forever. In love He is reaching out to sinners today through the preaching of the gospel. His love to this world is deep and profound.
Salvation is in Christ alone. Won’t you believe on Him that you might draw living, flowing waters out of the wells of salvation? There is no other way to meet our desperate need as sinners!