It had been a busy morning and the workers at the baking oil company were glad for lunch hour. Most of them finished up their projects and went out for an hour to relax and enjoy a meal. They never expected to return to a workplace in chaos.
All the baking oil from the company was shipped out in train cars which had to be purged with nitrogen. It can’t be smelled, it can’t be seen, but it can kill. Nitrogen is an inert gas which is lethal if humans breathe it straight. It will knock a person unconscious without their ever knowing what hit them.
Just before lunch hour, Brian went up to the top of an empty train car to fix a broken spout. As he removed the spout, it slipped and fell through the hatch into the car. Without thinking, Brian started down the ladder into the train car. The moment his head entered the car, he fell unconscious to the floor.
You don’t know what will happen to you today. Life is uncertain. What if this happened to you? Do you know where you would go if you died? After death, every man, woman and child will face their Creator God. He has told us, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). One day you will die. What if it is today? God in His grace does not leave us to face our deserved judgment alone. He also says, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:2828So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. (Hebrews 9:28)).
Coworker Matt had seen Brian go unthinkingly into the car and knew that he would die there. All the masks, oxygen tanks, and hoists were readily available for situations just like this, but Matt thought he could just slip into the train car and save his friend. Matt was the next person to fall unconscious from the ladder.
Tim worked on the same shift with Matt and watched with horror as his brother entered the nitrogen-filled car without protective equipment. After calling for the rescue squad, Tim had a friend Andrew help him into an oxygen tank and mask. They climbed up to the top of the train car and Tim attempted to climb down through the hatch that had swallowed up Brian and his brother Matt. But the hatch was too small for Tim to get through with his oxygen tank!
“Here,” he said to Andrew, “hold my tank until I’m in, then hand it to me.” But Tim did not realize how quickly pure nitrogen took effect. The minute his head went below the hatch he also dropped unconscious to the floor. Thankfully, Tim landed face-up on the floor of the car. Andrew was able to lower Tim’s mask into the car until it landed on his face, and Tim could breathe oxygen until the rescue squad arrived.
Wearing masks and protective gear, the rescue squad opened the bottom of the train car and pumped oxygen until the nitrogen had dissipated. When they entered the car, they found three people who looked like they were sleeping on the floor of the car. But two of them were in eternity. Only Tim with the flow of oxygen lowered to him by Andrew survived.
Matt could not save Brian. Tim could not save his brother Matt. And while Andrew was able to save Tim’s life, he could not save his soul. Only God can save anyone through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. Death can come at any time. Are you ready for it? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)).