This was Raquel’s wedding day. She looked lovely in her white dress. Yet it almost seemed a little strange that things were going so well for her.
Sad to say, Raquel had turned her back upon God’s love. She had also turned her back on all that her Christian parents had taught her from the Bible. She had been told of the loving Saviour who gave His life on the cross of Calvary so that sinners could be saved. She had been warned of the danger of turning away from God’s offer of salvation. Raquel’s father had read the Bible with his family every day for many years. And she had often been at Bible meetings to hear about the wonderful love of God. But sadly, Raquel thought it was more important to have fun. She did not see that there was any harm in some sins. She had done just as she pleased, forgetting the serious warning in the Bible, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:77Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)).
And so for many of the young Christian girls who knew Raquel, it must have seemed strange on that wedding day that things were going so well for her. Why did she get a husband who was so handsome and so strong? Perhaps none of the girls remembered that day what the Bible says, that the “pleasures of sin” are only for a season — a short time. There were a few older ones who saw and knew with sorrow that a girl cannot sow wild seeds and expect to harvest sweet fruit.
For a while, however, things went very well for Raquel. Her new young husband, Juan, even attended the Bible meetings at first. But it was not long before she found out that Juan had a drinking habit he could not break. As the years passed Raquel had two small children, but Juan was not a kind father. Those who lived near Juan and Raquel knew that it was not a happy family. After several years of unhappiness, Juan left his family and never returned. Raquel was left with two small children to care for. To make things worse, she began to get very sick.
Raquel found a job to provide for her two children. But soon she was so sick she couldn’t work. The doctor told her that she had the dangerous disease of tuberculosis. She and the children moved in with her parents.
Sadly, Raquel ignored the serious illness of her body just as she had ignored the serious need of her soul. She was given free medicine by the government, but she hardly ever took it. Soon she was so sick the medicine could no longer help her.
A Christian friend went to see her. She found that as Raquel grew weaker, her thoughts finally turned to the God she had forgotten for so long. Would God help her now? Did she deserve forgiveness after choosing a path of sin for so many years? No, Raquel did not deserve forgiveness, and now just before she died there was nothing she could do to make herself a better person. But God’s offer of salvation has never been to those who think they are good. His salvation has always been for those who know they are sinners and simply come to Him with their sins for salvation. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). “I am not come to call the righteous [good], but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:1313But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9:13)).
“You will be leaving this world soon,” the Christian friend said kindly to Raquel. “Are you ready?”
Raquel was too weak to sit up, but she quietly said, “Yes.”
She told her family that she was sorry for her life of sin and weakly said, “I know Jesus loves me.”
Shortly before Raquel left this world, someone asked her, “Where are you going?” She could no longer talk but she pointed “up.”
Raquel had found that living without God was not a happy life, but she had also found that when she turned to God from her sins, He still loved her and would forgive. “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon [forgive]” (Isaiah 55:77Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7)).
Tuberculosis had been a strange friend to Raquel. It had given her a long time to think about the fact that she was leaving this world soon to meet God. But we must warn you that not everyone has a long, slow warning before they leave this world. God is telling you in His Word, the Bible, that you must prepare to meet Him now. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:11Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; (Ecclesiastes 12:1)). Will you turn to the Lord Jesus now for salvation?
May this warning from Raquel’s life help you to see that the pleasures of sin never last. Your happiness will never last if it depends on your friends or your money or your health. The joy that God gives is the only happiness that will last. “Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he” (Proverbs 16:2020He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he. (Proverbs 16:20)).