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A fierce storm raged, a storm so violent that most of the villagers couldn’t remember another one like it. Many anxious wives and mothers in the little fishing village tensely waited for their fishermen husbands and sons who were out in the vicious weather.
Finally fishing boats began appearing on the horizon. Soon they entered the bay, and before long the first boat reached the harbor. In spite of the storm, a large crowd gathered on the pier and watched as boat after boat passed from the surging waves of the bay into the calmer waters of the harbor. Every eye in the waiting crowd searched anxiously for the boat bringing their loved one.
Terror Strikes
Finally, the last boat reached the mouth of the harbor. The seven brave men on board, after an exhausting struggle with the storm, could be heard in the distance.
Terror suddenly enveloped the waiting crowd. Faces turned white, shrieks pierced the air, and women clung to one another in agonizing disbelief. In a frenzy of desperation they kept yelling, “What happened? What happened?”
Just at the point of entering the harbor and only a short distance from safety, the boat suddenly vanished! In an instant, boat and crew had been swallowed up by the raging waves. Every one of the seven men drowned. They couldn’t have been nearer without actually being inside the harbor.
But they were lost!
Dangerous Indecision
Many people are in the same condition. Driven by their sense of need and compelled by their guilty conscience, some approach the door of salvation. It stands open to all, yet some people don’t enter. The tender voice of the loving Shepherd in divine compassion calls to them again and again, “I am the Door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9). Still they hesitate.
These people linger at the entrance as though they would like to go in. A single step would take them across the threshold, but they hold back. They listen with some concern to the message of mercy. They see others entering and accepting the Saviour’s forgiveness for their sins. Still they remain outside. The years slip by, and when God finally closes the door, they will still be there — so close to safety, yet still outside.
Be Decisive
If this describes your indecision, then: “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). Not far … but still outside. Be warned, that to be on the wrong side of the closed door means you will be on the wrong side forever! Will you take the necessary step before it is too late?
“Behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
“Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
“They that were ready went in with him … and the door was SHUT” (Matthew 25:10).
