A priority is something that you do first, even if other things have to wait. If you are not saved from your sins, this matter should be settled first. You need to take the Lord Jesus as your Saviour. This has priority over everything else you plan to do. Here is a story that might help you to understand.
Picture in your mind a little house in Bolivia with a wooden fence around a plain dirt yard. Beside the house there is a mother and several young children, and not far away is a rather fat pig. The mother has a tub in which she is busy washing the children’s clothes, with soapsuds up to her elbows.
The story begins as a tall young man comes into the yard carrying a Spanish Bible. He asked the mother if he could tell the children a Bible story. This request suddenly took top priority. The mother quickly set down her bar of soap on a stone, wiped the suds off her arms, and sat down with her children, ready to listen. They wanted to hear the message from God’s Word, the Bible.
What was the message? Of all messages in the world, the Word of God is the most important. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what color your skin is, or what language you speak, it is just right for you and me. God speaks not only to all of us as a group, but to each one of us individually. He is speaking to you right now. He is telling you in His Word that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). He also tells you in 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) that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” This message is for everyone. But verse 16 does not end there; it goes on to say that “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This message is more personal; He is talking to you as a special person. It must be just you, one person, who makes this most important decision to believe in that only begotten Son of God, in order that you may not perish but have everlasting life. This is your top priority at this moment. Will you settle it right now?
The family listened while the wonderful story of Jesus and His love was told to them. (And whenever you hear about Jesus, whether it is new to you or not, I hope your priority is to listen and to let others around you listen. This is important too.) But there was one there whose priority was to eat, and that one did not listen at all. The missionary suddenly interrupted his message with the cry, “The pig is eating your soap!”
Everyone gave chase. The pig was a good runner, but not very good at turning corners. Instead, she crashed into the fence, dropped the soap, and went off with foam around her mouth from the piece she had bitten off. The mother reclaimed her bar of soap, and then the gospel message was continued. It was too important to be ended by a hungry pig.
Don’t let anyone or anything keep you from listening and receiving God’s message for you today. 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) is God’s wonderful promise of everlasting life for you today, but remember it contains that sad and hopeless word “perish.” This means that there is a lost eternity in outer darkness for those who do not, individually and one by one, believe on the One whom God has sent to die for them. You will never, never make any decision more important than this. Will you then, right now, claim that wonderful verse and believe on the only begotten Son of God, that you may not perish but have everlasting life?
ML-09/19/1999