I want to tell you about a letter I once received and never read. A friend was moving far away to go to school, so we decided to keep in touch by writing letters. As time passed, his letters became less interesting because he wrote about people and places I didn’t know. Soon I was just scanning his letters quickly and putting them away.
One day I received a letter from my friend that was several pages long with small handwriting. I read the opening paragraph, looked at all those pages, and then threw it aside. I do not know why I picked it up again a few days later, but I happened to look at the back page and noticed a small postscript. It startled me into instant action. It said that my friend had found a chance to come home for a few days and was going to pay me a visit! The visit would be that very evening, and I had no time to go back to read all the letters he had been sending over the months.
As you can imagine, the visit was not a very good one for me. I was unhappy because I was not ready for his visit. I was afraid he would find out I had not been reading his letters, and was ashamed that I had been so careless of the things that were important to him. You might think I was not a very good friend, but maybe you are doing the very same thing. God, who wants to be more than a friend to us, has written us many letters. They are all collected in one book, the Bible. Do you look at all those pages and the small print and set it aside? It has the most important message in the whole world for every person. It tells every man, woman, boy or girl how to get to heaven and where we will go if we do not obey what God tells us. In this book we learn that Jesus is the way to heaven, and that “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:1212Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12). And in the Bible Jesus also tells us that He is going to come to take all who believe in Him to be in heaven with Him, which will be a big surprise to the world. He also plainly tells those who have not bothered to read or listen to His Word that they will be left behind for judgment. He warns— “Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” Matthew 24:4444Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 24:44).
In my case, I could easily have lost a friend. But that is only a small thing compared to what will happen if we do not read and obey God’s Word. Jesus said, “He that heareth MY WORD, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [judgment]; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24).
Read God’s letter. Believe it, too; and be ready when He comes suddenly.
ML 12/09/1990