John 3:16 (ESV)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Here is a great story I read the other day.
After a few of the usual Sunday evening hymns, the
church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave
his sermon for the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the
service that evening. In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation
that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he
wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt
would be appropriate for the service.
With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and
began to speak. "A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing
off the Pacific Coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm
blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high that, even though
the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and
the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized."
The old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact
with two teenagers who were, for the first time since the service began, looking
somewhat interested in the story. The aged minister continued with his story.
"Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating
decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the life
line. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son
was a Christian, and he also knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of
his decision could not be matched by the torrent of the waves. As the father
yelled out, 'I love you, son!', he threw out the life line to the son's friend.
By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son
had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was
never recovered."
By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight
in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old
minister's mouth. "The father," he continued, "knew his son
would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his
son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed
his son to save the son's friend. How great is the love of God that He could do
the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we
could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take hold of
the life line."
With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his
chair as silence filled the room. The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit
and delivered a brief sermon with an invitation at the end. However, no one
responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service, the two teenagers
were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely said
one of the boys, "but I don't think it was very realistic for a father to
give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would become a
Christian."
"Well, you've got a point there," the old man
replied, glancing down at his worn Bible. Sorrow began to overtake the old
man's smiling face as he once again looked up at the boys and said, "It
sure isn't very realistic, is it? But I'm here today to tell you that I
understand more than most the pain God must have felt to give up His only Son.
For you see, I'm the man who lost his son to the ocean that day, and my son's
friend that I chose to save is your pastor."
Dear Lord, we thank You for the great sacrifice that You
made on our behalf. Help us to share that great love with those we come into
contact with today. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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