Living in Idaho, farm boys learn early to make their own fun. Boys grow up to be young men, but they still enjoy adventure. This story happened to four young men: Jerry, Rich, Paul and John. A pastime they often enjoyed was riding motorcycles on the desert west of town. There were always interesting trails to follow, and they liked the challenge of climbing hills and jumping rocks and gullies on their cycles.
One hot, dry, August day the sky to the west looked strange. They decided there must be a large fire on the desert! Since there was a break in their harvest work, Jerry, Rich, Paul and John decided to take that time and head west on their cycles to check it out.
About 15 miles out they caught up to the racing fire, licking up tender grass and sage brush in a four-mile-wide path. Since the wind was blowing the fire away from them, Jerry and Rich decided to see if they could locate an old lookout tower not far away.
They found the old tower, but it had toppled and was ruined. So they got back on their motorcycles and headed back to where they had left Paul and John. Suddenly they realized the wind had changed direction, and now they were trapped by fire on all sides!
Jerry and Rich realized their danger and were anxious to do something about it, and right away! I’m sure anyone would feel the same way if they were trapped like Jerry and Rich were. And yet there are boys and girls, and grown-ups too, who are trapped in their sins and don’t seem to care. Every one of us is a sinner. Not only are we born in sin, but we continue to sin all our lives. And the Bible clearly tells us that “the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23). That’s pretty frightening. But there is a way to be rescued from that eternal death. As God looked down from heaven, His heart of love longed to make a way to rescue us.
God also looked down and saw Jerry and Rich trapped by the leaping flames. He always loves to be our help and strength in times of trouble. As they looked around, the only place the flames weren’t leaping was where the fire had already burned. Quickly they ran to a patch of blackened dirt where the fire had already burned. They stood there choking in clouds of smoke, blown by the changing wind. Now they feared the smoke, but that seemed to be lessening. They took some deep breaths and raced through the smoke to clear air. Those gulps of air were nearly used up when they finally came out of the smoke and saw blue sky. We know God was helping them! How thankful they were to be safe on the other side. Now they could look forward to seeing their loved ones again.
Take time to think about this, boys and girls: what escape has God made for us? He sent His only begotten Son to come to die at Calvary. There Jesus bore our judgment and took our place in the death we deserved for our sins. There is no other way to escape than for you to accept Jesus as your own Saviour, confessing that you are a sinner and believing that He suffered for your sins. If you accept Him right now you don’t ever need to fear punishment for your sins, but can rest in His words, “It is finished,” and His promise, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3).
Remember, fire can’t burn twice, so if Jesus bore our judgment we’ll never have to fear that judgment falling on us.
ML-02/02/1992