Mr. Ray occupied a responsible position in one of our large railway companies, and with his wife and family resided in the city. His wife and he were professing Christians, and were members in good standing of one of the churches. Mrs. Ray, through attending some special gospel meetings, had been brought to know Jesus as her Savior and Lord. On reaching home she told her husband of the joy and peace that were now hers, and earnestly besought him to accept Christ.
Mr. Ray was not at all pleased with his wife for her change of heart. Her appeals to him to receive Christ were also displeasing. Had he not for over twenty years been a member in good standing in "the old church"? He had attended Sunday services, and had borne his proper share of the church expenses. What else could one do? He could not go so far as to say he was saved, and was not so "presumptuous" as some who made "such a great profession"; yet he hoped that if he did his duty he stood a "good chance" of being in the kingdom "at last."
Mrs. Ray again and again tried to show him that unless he were "born again" of the Holy Spirit he must be eternally lost. As she continued faithfully attending the meetings, she learned that the Christian's hope is the Lord's second coming and that He might return at any moment. She rejoiced to find that all real Christians would then be "caught up to meet the Lord in the air"; but what a terrible thing it would be for all who had spurned His mercy and would be left behind for judgment! The weight of this momentous truth bore heavily upon her. "The Lord may come at any moment," she said to herself, "and my dear husband and I will be parted forever."
She could not endure the thought that the one she loved so dearly and tenderly, the one who had been such a loving and affectionate husband and father, might be eternally separated from her. She became greatly troubled and concerned about his spiritual condition, and redoubled her efforts to win him to Christ. "The Lord is coming! The Lord is coming!" was the uppermost thought in her mind.
When they retired to rest, she would remind him that Christ was soon coming, and that if she were taken during the night, he would be left. Her concern about the salvation of his soul was so intense that, again and again, she awakened him out of sleep with the words, "Tom! Tom! Jesus is coming, and if you are not saved, you and I will be separated forever!" Eventually her insistence and her prayers led him to renounce his false position and to accept Christ as his Savior.
Unconverted reader, the Lord Jesus is coming. He tells us plainly in 2 Thessalonians 1:88In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (2 Thessalonians 1:8) that, "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ."
I pray you, open your heart to the Savior who even now stands ready to take up His abode within you. He stands at the door and knocks. Believe Him, receive Him, and the same joy and peace as Mrs. Ray enjoys will be yours now and eternally.