One cold January day listeners to a bulletin relayed by CBS news from the British Broadcasting Corporation were dumbfounded by one item of news.
It seems that someone saw smoke rising from a house and turned in an alarm. Firemen responded promptly. When they burst into the home, they found smoke spreading through the house and fire raging in the living room.
As they usually do, they first checked to make sure no one was trapped in the house. To their amazement they found four people sitting in one room watching television. The two adults and two children were coughing from the smoke and their eyes were watering, but still they sat glued to the TV. The firemen couldn’t believe their eyes.
“Don’t you know the house is on fire? Get out at once!”
But the people refused to move. “Can’t you just put out the fire while we watch the end of the film?” they asked. “After all, it’s your job!”
The broadcaster who reported the story sounded incredulous as he reported the facts, and the listeners also found it hard to believe. How could anyone be so foolish as to risk death for the sake of a few minutes of television viewing?
But perhaps you are doing something just as foolish. I know you are not watching TV or playing games while your house burns around you, but are you carrying on your business, your schoolwork or your pleasures with no thought for the future? The Bible warns us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 3:23; 6:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)
23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). We are also told to “flee from the wrath to come” (Matt. 3:77But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7)).
Lovingly, the Lord Jesus is inviting you to come to Himself and be saved. He suffered on the cross of Calvary and bore the penalty for the sins of all who will trust in Him. He shed His blood and died for you and me so that He could offer a free salvation to each one of us. Won’t you take the salvation He is offering you? “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).