It was my job to check for leaks in the trunks of cars. I had to climb into the trunk with my flashlight. Then the other mechanic on the job had to close the trunk and spray it hard with water from a hose while I looked all over the inside for leaks with my flashlight. Of course, when the trunk closed it locked automatically.
The very first time I had to do that job, the bulb burned out in my flashlight. I don’t mind telling you I was really scared. The water spraying on the trunk lid was making such a racket that nobody could hear me yell. I was all curled up in there. I felt as though I was trapped in a tiny dungeon of darkness. It was absolutely pitch black . . . I couldn’t see one thing!
Then the telephone rang. The mechanic dropped the hose and ran into the shop to answer it. Realizing my situation had changed a little, I began banging on the inside of the trunk, but no one was around to hear me.
The book of Jude in the Bible tells us about the blackness of darkness forever (vs. 13). Darkness like that is reserved for people who are like the three people in Jude verse 11.
The first was Cain. He thought he could please God by offering Him something he had produced with his own hands. But we are all such selfish sinners full of pride that there is nothing we are able to do to please God with our own works. Cain couldn’t do it. I can’t. And neither can you. We can only come to the Lord Jesus, admitting we are sinful and helpless, and just accept His gift of salvation. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). And Cain was pretty proud of himself, wasn’t he?
The second was Balaam. A wicked king wanted him to curse God’s people. He was willing to do that for the reward the king offered him. How terrible! Balaam wanted to curse the people God loved just so he could have a special title and lots of money. He was really greedy, wasn’t he? The blackness of darkness is reserved for people like that too.
The third was Korah. He will also enter that black darkness because he organized a group of important men to rise up against the leaders God had chosen to guide His people through the wilderness. Korah was rebellious!
These three all came to a sad end in this life, but that’s nothing compared to spending eternity in such black darkness that you can’t even see your hand in front of your face. I’m a grown-up, but it still really scared me to be shut up in that car trunk even for 15 minutes!
The next time I had to do that job, I made sure I was prepared. I checked my flashlight batteries and took two things with me - an extra flashlight bulb and a wrench that I could use to take apart the lock on the trunk.
You may say, I’m not proud or greedy or rebellious like those men. But you are a sinner, aren’t you? And all sinners face the possibility of being in the blackness of darkness forever. Be prepared. Come to the Lord Jesus now and let Him forgive you. He loves you so much He died for you. He rose from the dead and is sitting at God’s right hand, calling to you, “Come unto Me.”
When I knew I was prepared, I wasn’t the least bit afraid to be shut into the trunk of a car. And God has given us His holy, faultless Word, the Bible, so we can know we’re prepared for eternity. That knowledge takes all fear out of our hearts. “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name” (John 20:31).
ML-09/01/1996