John, Dean and Nelson left in plenty of time to reach the airport long before Nelson’s plane was expected to leave. As they drove along enjoying each other’s company, they were suddenly startled by a loud bang and a sudden lurch of the station wagon. The right rear tire had blown.
“Oh well, it won’t take long for the three of us to change one tire,” said Dean, the owner of the station wagon.
They hopped out and had soon dug the spare tire out of the back of the wagon where it had been kept for the last year. But when they got it on the car, they discovered that it was just as flat as the one they’d taken off !
Nelson kept looking at his watch. They still had about an hour before takeoff time.
Realizing they had no way to pump up the spare tire, Dean kept asking himself, “How could I have been so stupid as to take that tire pump out of the car?”
They began waving down cars, hoping someone would have the pump they needed so desperately. Finally, a man with a small hand pump stopped and loaned it to them. Frantically, they began to take turns pumping as fast as they could.
Time was running out, and they well knew it. Time is running out for other people too, but it doesn’t seem to bother them. God warns us that the time to accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour and settle the question of our sins will soon be over. The Lord Jesus will be coming very soon to take to heaven all those who are cleansed from their sins. Everyone else will be left behind for judgment. 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) warns, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
As soon as the young men thought they had pumped enough air into the tire for it to be safe to drive on, they took off for the airport, driving as fast as they dared. When they stopped at a red traffic light in sight of the small airport, Dean said, “There’s the taillight of your plane, Nelson, so it’s still here.” But as the traffic light turned green and they crossed the intersection, Nelson said hopelessly, “It’s moving . . . I’m too late.” Even so, the three young men raced up to the ticket counter, and Nelson plunked his ticket down, saying, “I guess I missed the plane.”
“Yes,” said the agent, picking up the ticket and examining it, “and your ticket’s no good for future flights.”
Nelson watched the plane rising above the airport and turning west. What a sinking feeling it was to see the plane he had hoped to be on take off without him, knowing that his seat on that plane was empty.
But your salvation is not just a matter of missing an airplane; it’s a matter of life and death. The Lord Jesus offers you life -eternal life - if you will simply come to Him, confessing that you are a sinner and believing that He died on the cross and was punished for your sins so you can have total forgiveness.
Poor Nelson was very dejected. His ticket had cost a lot of money, and now his ticket was useless. He walked back over to the agent and asked, “What should I do?”
The agent was very understanding. He said the very same thing had happened to him only a week before, and so he would do Nelson a favor. He exchanged Nelson’s ticket with no extra charge. Nelson was elated!
ML-08/01/1993