Friday, July 25, 2008
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It happened over 40 years ago, but it's one of those events I'll never really forget. It happened in Chicago where I grew up, and it was the most devastating tragedy most of us would remember from that time. It was December 1, 1958, and a fire broke out at the foot of a stairway in the Our Lady of the Angels School. That fire raged out of control very quickly, and it cut off any normal escape routes. Ninety grade school children died in that fire. But there's one I remember vividly from a news account that I read at the time and I still haven't forgotten. This little boy was in a second story window - they had a photo of him. The boy's father was down below, yelling to him to jump into his arms. That boy could see the fire racing toward him from behind, but he refused to jump. Then, in one awful moment, the boy disappeared. He was one of those victims.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "When it's too Late to Jump."
Over all these years, I've never been able to get the picture of that little boy out of my mind. He did not have to die. If only he had jumped into the arms that were waiting to save him. Tragically, so many people have made that same awful mistake when it comes to Jesus Christ.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Ezekiel 18 beginning at verse 31. In it God poses an impassioned question that just might be for you today. In calling people to get right with God, He says, "Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die? ... repent and live." God says, "I'm offering you life if you'll just turn to Me from a self-run life. Jump into My arms!" And then His question, "Why will you die?"
Dying - in the spiritual sense - is the penalty we all face for doing it "my way" instead of God's way. Speaking of an eternal separation from God in a place that the Bible calls hell, God says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). We hope we can earn a place in heaven by being a good person, but the Bible says the only thing we can earn is the death penalty for our sins. No amount of religion, no amount of decency can pay that death penalty.
But then the Bible introduces the hope - the waiting arms beyond the reach of the fire. It says, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). A gift can't be earned - it can only be received. Jesus bought the gift of eternal life for you and me. He paid for it with His life when He paid our death penalty on the cross, and now He offers to give you heaven when you reach out, when you put your trust in Him, and you begin a relationship with Him.
The fire of God's judgment is real. And if we die without a relationship with Jesus Christ, that is our destination. Now, someone says, "I don't believe God will send anyone to hell." That's actually right. God doesn't send anyone to hell; we send ourselves by refusing to jump into the arms that are waiting to save us.
And there is no way to be forgiven, no way to belong to God, no way to go to heaven without a leap of faith into the arms of Jesus. You can't think your way to Jesus. You can't earn your way to Jesus. There has to be that moment when you jump by faith into your Savior's arms. Has there been a moment like that in your life? There's still time. I don't know how much time.
Like the tragedy of that little boy in the window, there comes a time when it's too late to jump, when your heart is too hard or your life is suddenly over. Listen to Jesus as He calls you to jump. "Why will you die? Repent and live."
If you want to step by faith into this life-saving relationship with Jesus, would you tell Him that right now? And I would love to help you know how to begin that relationship and be sure you have if you would just go to our website. It's for that purpose. It's yoursforlife.net. Or I'll send you my free booklet Yours For Life if you'll just call our office and ask for it at 877-741-1200.
The fire is getting ever closer. But the arms of Jesus are wide open. He's waiting for you.