Monday, November 3, 2008
Download MP3 (right click to save)
It's hard to imagine a movie that got rave reviews when there are about 45 minutes during which there was just one man on the screen, and he didn't even talk that whole time! But Tom Hanks pulled it off in his blockbuster movie, "Cast Away." It's the story of the lone survivor of a Federal Express plane crash who ends up totally alone on an island. Well alone, that is, except for his one friend - a volleyball he names Wilson. Tom Hanks' character is on that island, marooned and alone, for four years. He's the castaway.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "No Castaways."
You've probably never been marooned on a desert island. But you may know pretty well how it feels. In a world of bad relationships and superficial relationships and broken relationships, a lot of people know the feeling of being emotionally marooned, abandoned, maybe even discarded. Because of some of what you've been through, you may feel like you're the castaway.
But your days on that island may be almost over. In fact, it could be that all your failed or frustrating relationships have actually been preparing you to experience the central relationship you were made for. The one relationship that is so permanent and so secure that it even redefines your need for love, and it sets you free for healthier relationships all around.
Anyone who has ever felt like an emotional castaway needs to hear the fabulous promise of Jesus Christ in our word for today from the Word of God. In John 14:18, Jesus says to all those who belong to Him, "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." This is the same Savior who says, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). He's the One who promised "The one that comes to me, I will certainly not cast out" (John 6:37).
That's it: unconditional love, unconditionally guaranteed by the One with more love to give than anyone in the world. And that's the kind of anchor love that your heart is so ready for, a kind of dependable love that you may have almost given up on, but a love that's guaranteed by the man who loved you enough to die for you.
The Bible actually says that you and I were "created by Jesus and for Jesus" (Colossians 1:16). But maybe you've never given yourself to Jesus until now. It's all the hurt of those other relationships that has softened your heart and made you realize how much you need the One who died to pay for all the wrong things you've ever done. We're not talking about a Christian religion here. No religion can love you, forgive you, be with you every moment of every day, or take you to heaven when you die. Only Jesus can do that.
So this is all about a relationship; a relationship that begins when you respond to this awesome love of Jesus. It begins when you welcome Him into your life, counting on Him and on Him alone to remove the wall between you and God. When you do that, the relationship you were created for begins. And from now on, that promise of Jesus can be all about you, "The one that comes to Me I will certainly not cast out."
Why don't you tell Jesus right now that the door on your heart is wide open to Him; that today you want to begin your personal relationship with Him. You know, if that's something you're ready for, you can say to Him, "Lord Jesus, I'm sorry for running my own life and hijacking it from your control. And now I believe that the death penalty for my sin was paid for by your death on the cross. I thank you that you came back from the dead, you're alive, and I am yours from today on. That begins that relationship if you pray that with your heart.
Our website is really set up to help walk you through a sure way to know you've begun your relationship with Jesus. A lot of people have been helped there it seems, and I'd invite you to go there today. It's YoursForLife.net. Or I can send you my booklet Yours for Life if you'll just call for it toll free at 877-741-1200.
You have lived long enough on that lonely island. It's time to meet the one person who will never, never leave you. If you do, you have just spent your last day alone.