Racing Past the Glory

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

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Three days before our vacation, my wife and I had no idea where we were going to be able to go! We'd been too busy to think about it and too broke to pay for it. And then some friends supplied a beautiful spot in the Rocky Mountains. You know, God's a great vacation planner.

We had the joy of looking out a window each morning at the majesty of Buffalo Mountain, all 12,000 plus feet of her. You'd have to stack four of New Jersey's highest mountains on top of each other to get that kind of altitude, and that's where we were living. One night the temperature dropped to some winter lows, even though it was just early fall. My wife had gotten up before sunrise that morning and she said, "Honey, get up! You've got to see this!" The mountain was covered with a beautiful covering of new-fallen snow. And then just above the mountain was this crown of puffy, white clouds. Directly over all that was a full moon that was just softly lighting the whole thing. It was great!

And then there were the two early risers in the parking lot. One guy came out on his way to work, saw that magical scene and just stood there frozen, gazing at it for a long time. He was awed by it as we were. Then guy number two came running out on his way to work. He's got his lunch box in his hand, his eyes were looking straight ahead, he hustles right to his car, hurriedly backed out of his parking space and speeds away. What a contrast between the two men. One stood amazed and one was too busy to even notice.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Racing Past the Glory."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Hebrews 2:3. God's got an unsettling question here: "How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?" God is offering us a gift that cost Him a lot, and some people are running right past it. God's most glorious work is not a moonlit, snow-crest mountain or a sunset or even the amazing universe out there. No, it's what happened on a Roman cross, and three days later at a garden tomb. It's wrapped up in these seven words, "if we ignore such a great salvation."

Obviously salvation means someone's in trouble, right, and needs deliverance...needs a rescue. You and I are in big trouble with God according to the Bible. Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of our sin is death." And as good as we might be or religious, we like to think we're okay. But the judge before whom we must stand says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We're all guilty of taking over the life that God gave us and doing what we want with it. Spiritually, we're on death row. That's where this salvation comes in. God sent His one and only Son to die our death penalty because of His awesome love for us.

Then three days later, Jesus wielded the knockout punch on death. He proved that He alone can deliver eternal life by rising from the dead. Who else did that? Jesus loves you enough to die in your place. He's powerful enough to blow the doors off of death; all that to give you a way to belong to God. Such a great salvation! But you might be missing it, like that man who raced past the glory of the scene on that mountain, maybe you've been running right past the glory of what happened on a hill called Skull Hill where Jesus died for you.

You've been busy working, building your kingdom, and caring for your family, and pursuing your pleasure, and running right past the one thing you cannot afford to miss. That's what you've been looking for your whole life. Isn't it time you stopped running and stand amazed at the cross of Jesus Christ? Isn't it time to say, "Lord, I've ignored the glory of what You've done for me, but no more. I'm Yours."

Are you ready to belong to Him? Are you ready to experience this love and this power that has changed lives for 2,000 years? This could be your day to begin with Him. And I want to encourage you to join me at our website. I will take just a very few minutes to explain to you exactly how you can know you belong to Jesus. Go to ANewStory.com.

See, a person is drowning, a rescuer throws him a rope and he ignores it, and he dies. Not because there was no salvation, but because he ignored it. Jesus has thrown you a rope that's anchored to His cross. Please don't ignore it any longer.