Do some of you children know Uncle Howard? He’s the one who is called “the candy man.” Uncle Howard told me an amazing story last week, and I want to tell it to you.
Some years ago, Uncle Howard and his wife invited a foreign-exchange student from Norway into their home so she could attend a year of schooling in the town where they live. This young girl came to our Sunday school while she was living with them. She finished her schooling, went back to Norway, and then later got married and now has two children.
Near the end of December, this family took a vacation and flew to Phuket, Thailand, to go snorkeling in the Indian Ocean. Before leaving home, they sent a computer message to Uncle Howard’s family, telling them about their vacation plans.
The Sunday morning of the great earthquake and the tsunami that followed, they were down at the beach with their swimming gear and had gone into the water to look at underwater sea life. Suddenly, to their amazement, the ocean water level dropped, and they found themselves standing on the ocean floor in their swimming flippers!
One minute they were having a wonderful time snorkeling, and the next minute they realized that something unbelievably strange and terrifying was happening! They screamed at what they saw and knew their lives were in great danger!
Children, are you ready to meet God? What about your sins? The Bible warns, “The soul that [sins], it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:2020The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:20)). It also gives us another warning: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:22(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) (2 Corinthians 6:2)). It is telling us that right now is the time to “prepare to meet thy God” (Amos 4:1212Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. (Amos 4:12)). You know, your body may die, but your soul will never die! And the Bible tells us that our souls will spend eternity either in heaven with the Lord Jesus or in hell with the devil.
Maybe you are thinking, I’m still a very young person, and I’ll have plenty of time to turn to God when I’m a little older. But stop and think: How much time did that family have to get ready to meet God? Standing on the bottom of the bay, they looked toward the ocean and saw a gigantic wall of water headed straight toward them at very high speed! THEY HAD NO TIME! IT WAS TOO LATE!
Here is the rest of the story. That December morning Uncle Howard’s family heard about the huge earthquake and the dreadful tsunami that followed. They saw on the map that the city of Phuket was exactly in the direct path of that giant wave’s destruction! “OH, NO!” they said. “How can we find out if our friends are safe?” They soon decided that it was impossible to find out. The disaster was so huge and over such a large area that there was no way to contact them. All they could do was to send a computer message to their home in Norway and wait for an answer . . . if one would ever come.
Some days later a computer answer did come, and this is what Uncle Howard’s family learned. The first wave smashed into the four of them and swept them up the beach. One of their boys caught hold of a tree and was able to climb out of harm’s way. Then the larger, second wave hit the other three family members. They were hurtled farther inland along with all the debris and wreckage, which injured them with wounds and bruises. But through the great mercy of God, when the waves went back out to sea, none of them had been killed! After some time, through a miracle from God and His loving-kindness, all four of them were brought back together again.
The father had to be hospitalized in Phuket a short while. Then he was able to fly home with his family where he could get more medical help.
We know that thousands of people died in the tsunami. If you had been on the beach that day, would you have been ready to meet God if your life had suddenly ended? Jesus loves you and wants to save you. He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:99The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)). Accept Him as your Saviour right now and be ready! Just pray in your heart and tell the Lord Jesus that you want to be saved right here and now. Tell Him you know you are a sinner and you believe what the Bible tells you -to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus to be saved from your sins - and you want to be saved right now.
ML-05/08/2005