Matthew 25:31-32 (NIV)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Do you know who you are?
Maybe not. To the government you are a Social Security
number. In your family you play different roles, to your boss and business
you're an asset or a liability.
Most of us wear many hats.
That was certainly the situation around the year 1910.
According to the story I read, a man was waiting for the New York subway when
he was bumped and found himself falling onto the rails. His death was prevented
only by the quick grasp of another passenger.
The calendar advances four years. It's now 1914 and the
passenger who was saved has been rightly arrested and convicted for a capital
offense. Even so, his demeanor throughout the trial could be described as being
nothing less than blasé.
His cavalier attitude was the result of him having
recognized the judge. It was the same man who had saved him at the subway. All
of the lawbreaker's bravado evaporated when the convicted heard the judge give
him the maximum sentence.
"But judge", the man said, "don't you
remember me? I'm the man you saved at the subway."
With some sadness, the judge replied, "I do remember
you, and I remember how I saved you that day. But what have I saved you for? So
you could go on sinning, stealing and murdering? Yes, I remember and I'm sorry
the action was wasted. At any rate," the judge continued, "that day I
was your savior; today I am your judge."
You hear all the time people who maintain a loving Lord
would never, ever send someone to hell.
Now it is true God doesn't want anyone to go to hell, and
He has provided a way to make sure everyone can avoid that nasty place, even so
that doesn't mean we can ignore the fact that salvation is completely dependent
upon our believing on God's Son as our Savior.
And that means believing while He is our Savior and not
our Judge.
Now, of course, you know that, but maybe you know
somebody who could afford to hear that Bible-based truth once again. If so, why
not make it today when you share it with them.
Dear Lord, thank You for saving us today. We pray that
You would bring someone into our life today that we can share Your great love
with them. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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