“Are we ready to go yet, Grandpa?” Mr. Hanson had promised to take his grandson hunting, and eight-year-old Sammy was anxious to be off. Mrs. Hanson packed them a nice lunch and they were soon on their way, following trails through the woods away from the village. Once they left the village, it was three miles straight to the highway or any other homestead. It was a beautiful November day, and they were hoping to bring home some rabbits or other small game.
Time passed quickly and it was late afternoon, so they started out on a trail that they were sure would bring them out to the village. They wanted to get home before it got dark. They knew that once they came to the marsh stream it was a short way from there to the village, but they were unable to find it!
The Bible tells us, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:1212There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)). Boys and girls, there is only one way to heaven. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:66Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)).
Mrs. Hanson began to worry. It was getting dark, and her husband and grandson had not returned. She had a hot supper waiting, but 6 o’clock came and then 7 o’clock, and no sign of them. She finally called the police. They came, but they told Mrs. Hanson that they did not know the woods and had no idea how to find them. The best they could do was to blow a big horn at intervals. This would help them if they could follow the direction the sound came from.
Meanwhile, Mac, who had gotten up very early that morning to guide some hunters to a distant place, returned home and was enjoying his supper. Mac’s neighbor, Bruce, came in and told Mac that Mr. Hanson and his grandson were lost in the woods, and that Mrs. Hanson had called the police. So Mac and Bruce went to the Hanson’s home to see what the problem was. By this time Mrs. Hanson was very worried. She said her husband had a heart condition, and as the temperature was dropping quite low, she didn’t know if her husband could survive the night.
Mac spoke to the officers and told them that the wind was blowing in the wrong direction for the hunters to hear the horn. Sound carried far in that area, and if they listened carefully, they could hear the faint hum of traffic on the highway several miles away. Mac explained to the officers that he grew up there and knew all the trails through the woods even in the dark. He also told them he had a pretty good idea where to look for them. He was sure they would have headed toward the sound of the distant traffic, in the opposite direction from the village. So the officers turned off their horn, and Mac and Bruce went to seek the hunters.
Boys and girls, the Bible tells us, “The Son of man [the Lord Jesus] is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)). The Lord Jesus loves you so much that He came to die on the cross so that you could be with Him in heaven. “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)).
After walking for 45 minutes, Mac and Bruce came to a logging road, and they followed it. Soon they heard, “Pop, Pop.” It was the sound of a 22 rifle being fired. Mac knew it was Mr. Hanson and Sammy letting searchers know of their location. Mac called out, and they soon came upon the hunters. The grandfather was exhausted and could not walk. He was sitting on the ground while Sammy fired the rifle at intervals. Bruce stayed with the hunters while Mac hiked out to a home where the owner had an old bus that was used to haul logs out of the woods.
Harry McCavour was happy to help. He and Mac jumped in his old, small bus and drove to the hunters. Soon Mr. Hanson and Sammy were on board with a warm blanket wrapped around them. In a short time they were home, safe and warm and enjoying a good hot supper.
Do you think that when Mac and Harry came back with the old bus that Mr. Hanson and Sammy refused the ride? Did they say they would find their own way back? Did they say they could find their way home in the morning when it was light? No indeed! They were very thankful to be rescued!
Boys and girls, you too are lost sinners on your way to a lost eternity if you have not yet accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior. Are you using excuses to put off coming to the Lord Jesus? Don’t put it off!. Let the Lord Jesus wash your sins away today! He loves you so much that He gave His life on that awful cross to save you from a lost eternity. Just as Mr. Hanson and Sammy heard Mac call to them and they gladly answered, so the Lord Jesus is calling to you today. He wants to wash away your sins and make you ready for His heavenly home. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:77I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (Luke 15:7)).
ML-06/10/2018