A young man stood on the bank of the Catawba River and steadied his inflatable boat so that a friend, holding her small dog, could step into it. This stretch of the Catawba was relatively mild, but recent rains had muddied the Catawba. Brown water flowed past them. Small eddies swirled around the occasional log or rock breaking the surface of the river. A large dam a few hundred feet upstream from where they launched the boat controlled the amount of water flowing in the river.
After the two were settled in the boat, several pulls on the oars propelled them out into the center of the river. At places large boulders jutted out of the river. It was by one such boulder at midstream that the little dog, always playful, decided to jump out of the boat. Both persons reached out at the same time to bring the little dog back into the boat. The sudden shifting of weight to one side of the boat caused it to capsize.
The two were thrown into the frigid, waist-deep water. Quickly they scrambled out of the water and onto the large rock. The dog, frightened by the commotion, swam to shore. The current carried the boat out of reach. Chilled to the bone, they stood on the rock, angry with themselves for being so careless.
The engineer in charge of the dam was completely unaware of anyone boating near the dam, much less of the accident. At this moment, he decided to open the floodgate on the dam and release some of the pent-up water that had been rising behind the dam. A great wall of water came hurtling through the floodgate. The river quickly increased in depth and breadth. The current that had been mild became a torrent. The two young people had to climb to the very top of the rock to keep from being swept away. Just when it seemed that they would be swept off the rock, the water leveled off.
Someone on shore saw their predicament and called 911. In minutes a rescue truck from a nearby fire station drove up to the water’s edge. Rescue workers saw at a glance the danger the two were in and immediately called for a helicopter. When it arrived, it hovered over the two shivering people stranded on the rock. A fireman trained for such emergencies was lowered on a cable by a winch from the side of the helicopter. First, he gave each of them a helmet and life jacket. He made sure these were securely fastened on, and then he tried to persuade the girl to put on a harness so she could be lifted up into the helicopter. At first she refused. The ordeal had left her badly shaken, and the prospect of being hoisted through the air on a cable terrified her. The fireman comforted and reassured her until at last she agreed to put on the harness and to be hoisted up. The process was quickly repeated to lift the man also to the helicopter, and soon they were both in safety.
What a shock it must have been to see the floodgates open and the torrent of water racing toward them. Can you imagine how the two felt when, after the misfortune of tipping their boat over, they realized the dam was opening and they were in danger of being swept away and drowned?
This happened in February of 2003. It makes for good storytelling, but it doesn’t directly involve you. The second story is of a dam and how its floodgate was opened nearly two thousand years ago, and though it seems like so long ago, it does directly involve you.
It wasn’t until the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and died for sinners that the floodgates of God’s love were opened wide and His love and grace could flow out to all the world. Because of the death of His Son, God can now freely offer the gift of eternal life to everyone. When Jesus died on the cross, it was as if an overpowering flood of His love flowed forth. This wonderful love in all its freshness and greatness still flows out to people today. It flows out to every sort of person, rich or poor, young or old, high or low, telling them that if they trust the Savior, the blood that was shed on Calvary’s cross can wash away every stain of sin.
Since these floodgates of God’s love have been opened, it does the most miraculous thing: It takes sinners who deserve nothing but wrath at the hand of God and instead gives them eternal life when they believe on God’s Son! The same love that brought the Lord Jesus to the cross, the same love that the Father showed the Son when He raised Him from the grave, the same love that filled the heart so that He spoke from heaven and said, “This is My beloved Son; hear Him,” is now reaching out to you. It swirls in eddies around you. God waits for you to realize the immensity of His love towards you and the priceless gift of eternal life He offers.
This is love indeed. It is love that surpasses all other loves. This is love the world would never have known had it not been that the Lord Jesus died on the cross to show us what was in God’s heart. If you haven’t found out for yourself how great this love is, won’t you trust the Savior right now so that He can save you and become part of your life?
The third dam to consider is as terrible and bleak as the previous one was wonderful and glad, for it has the power to sweep men to destruction and everlasting death. It is the dam that holds back God’s wrath in order to give men time to consider their ways and repent. The Bible solemnly speaks of sinners: “[Treasuring] up...wrath against the day of wrath” (Rom. 2:55But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; (Romans 2:5)).
What does this treasuring up mean? It means that every moment spent in careless indifference to the claims of Christ, every selfish act, every sin committed, is like floodwater gathering up behind a dam. When the pressure behind the dam reaches a certain point, God will open the floodgate of His anger to destroy such a one in hell. It is true that God loves sinners, but it is also true that He hates sin. One sin is more hateful in His eyes than ten thousand are to us. If you remain unrepentant you will find out the terrible extent of God’s hatred of sin when you die. Impenitent souls will be sent to a hell where the suffering will never cease.
By not obeying the gospel message to repent and believe in Christ, you are showing God that you do not want Him. When God banishes you out of His presence forever, He will only be finalizing the decision that you yourself already made. Won’t you realize the extreme danger you are in and come to the Savior for forgiveness of sin? Only by so doing can you be certain that the dam that holds back God’s wrath-His righteous indignation-will never be opened against you.
In the first case, it was foolish for the two to be out boating so near a dam that might be opened at any moment. More foolish-deadly, fatally foolish-are the multitudes of people today who are trying to make their lives as happy, pleasant and prosperous as possible apart from God when what they are really doing is treasuring up “wrath against the day of wrath.” Someday that wrath will break out and sweep them away in irresistible power.
A verse in Proverbs reads, “Fools make a mock at sin.” That is, they think little of it, when in truth it is the gravest of all issues. Won’t you realize the seriousness of sin and recognize your need of the Savior? Won’t you come to Him at once?