“Rrrring! ... Rrrring!”
Oh, no, I thought. With all these people calling to sell me something, I’m not getting a thing done! Maybe I won’t answer this time. But when the telephone kept ringing, I decided to answer it. “Hello?” I said tiredly.
“Hi!” said a cheerful little voice. “Could you come to my house to-mo-wo?
Only one little boy I knew said the word “tomorrow” like that. So I answered, “I’d love to come to your house, Tommy!” Then he asked me to be sure to bring my youngest son so they could play cars together.
I was so glad I answered that phone call. Tommy would have been very disappointed if I hadn’t, and our family would have missed out on a good dinner and visit. I almost missed out on a kind invitation by not answering the telephone.
Have you ever missed out on an invitation to a dinner or a birthday party or to a friend’s house? Maybe you were sick or busy or just didn’t want to go. I hope no one reading this is missing out on God’s invitation. Have you heard God’s loving voice calling you to come to Him? “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:1515While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. (Hebrews 3:15)).
Just as Tommy invited me to his house, God is inviting you to His house in heaven. Revelation 21 tells us about that wonderful home where there will be no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow, and no more crying or pain. And something else that won’t be in His home is SIN, because God is holy and perfect. He knew we were sinners, but even though He hates our sins, He still loves us. He and His Son had a plan so that we could be in heaven without our awful sins. About 2000 years ago He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to bear the punishment on the cross for the sins of all people who would believe in Him. To be able to live in God’s home, you must tell Him that you know you are a sinner and are truly sorry for your sins and that you want Him to forgive them.
It wasn’t hard for me to accept Tommy’s cute invitation, and it isn’t hard for you to accept God’s loving invitation. Will you accept it right now?
ML-03/13/2011