If you were to walk through a stand of old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest, you would be walking through one of the most beautiful, majestic places on earth. You would find yourself marveling at the straightness and height of the trees, which are almost unbelievably huge. Douglas fir, spruce and red cedar can grow to heights of 300 feet, and sometimes these trees can be as much as 13 feet across. A tree trunk with a diameter of 13 feet would require eight or nine people holding hands to wrap their arms around its trunk.
Although these trees may look like they are growing straight up to heaven, they invariably have a lean to them. This lean may not be perceptible to the naked eye. It was important for old-time loggers to know which way these trees were leaning. The slightest lean in one of these old-growth giants would greatly affect the direction the tree would fall when it was cut down. This is why lumberjacks would take a plumb line (a piece of string with a narrow lead weight attached to one end) and hold it against the trunk of the tree to determine which way it was leaning. Once they determined the lean, they could safely predict what direction the tree would fall when it was cut down.
Some of those old-growth trees are 600 or 700 years old. That is a long time indeed, but compared to eternity, it is less than a tiny sliver of wood compared to all the trees that have ever grown in the soil of the earth. These trees can live to a remarkably old age, but they don’t live forever. However, human beings will live forever. Do you know that eternity may be just around the corner for any of us? Our physical bodies will one day return to the dust, and in the dust they will remain until they are resurrected, but each person will exist forever in heaven or hell. This is why it is so important to get right with God through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. People who remain unrepentant sinners will be sent out of God’s presence and into the darkness of a lost eternity forever.
Repentance
People need to repent, because they invariably have a “lean” to them. “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)). God’s glory — His goodness, love, righteousness and holiness so pure, so wonderful, is the standard by which He will judge the world. It is the plumb line that every person’s life will be compared to. If you are comparing yourself to other human beings who are sinners, you might be deceived into thinking that everything is fine, just because you measure up favorably against the majority of other people. But it is only when you hold up God’s plumb line — His standard of righteousness — that you will see how far you have fallen short. Sins are thoughts, words or actions willfully committed that are at odds with God’s right ways. Repentance is when we have a change in the depth of our hearts and come to hate the sin we once loved, because God is at work in our heart.
The Lord Jesus died on Calvary’s cross so that sinners who repent might be forgiven. “Through this Man [Jesus Christ] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:3838Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: (Acts 13:38)). The blood He shed on the cross has the power to wash away the guilt of sin for all those who believe on Him.
Repentance and faith are bound together: You can’t have one without the other. People who repent will always be led of God to look to the Saviour for the forgiveness of sins. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:2222Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22)). People who believe in the Lord Jesus have turned their backs on their sin, because they are now heading in a new direction — towards the Lord.
Heaven
Walking through a stand of old-growth forest, with the morning sun slanting through the upper branches and a soft light suffusing everything below, is a beautiful experience. However, it doesn’t begin to compare to the experience of being in heaven. In heaven, the Lord Himself will be the wonderful light of the place, and the light of His glory will fill every heart. Because of the light of glory, not a trace of spiritual poverty, ignorance and misery, so common among men on earth, will be found in heaven. The most beautiful places on earth all give a hint of their Creator’s wisdom, power and majesty, but in heaven each one will have an intimate, unshakable knowledge of these things. This knowledge will fill the souls there with rapturous joy.
Loggers used a plumb line to determine the lean of a tree and the direction it would fall when it was cut down. Will you use the plumb line of God’s Word to help you understand where you will spend eternity when this short life is over? Be wise and repent. Believe on the Lord Jesus. That’s the most important step you will ever make!
And that step isn’t something that’s short lived. Read about it in Eternity Is a Long Time to Be Wrong.