Felix was not her real name, but that’s what her big brother called her. The name Felix means “happy,” and sometimes it suited her, and sometimes it didn’t.
Felix had had more than a dozen birthdays, and there had been gifts with ribbons and cards, but this time she wanted a very special gift, and she wanted it badly.
So, on the morning of that special day, she knelt down and prayed, “Lord, help me to win someone for Christ today.” That was the gift she wanted more than anything else. And before the day was over, she was seated in Lena’s living room with a slim little Bible in her pocket, watching for the answer to her birthday prayer.
After they had chatted awhile, she said, “Lena, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Would you like to know for sure that you are saved from your sins?”
“I don’t need to be saved,” Lena answered. “I am not a sinner.”
Then the Bible came out of Felix’s pocket. “It says here in Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23) that ‘all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’ And if God says it, it must be true.”
“No,” insisted Lena. “I’ve been kind to everybody, and I’ve helped them and given them things. I’m not a sinner.”
Felix was not very good at arguing, so she just said, “Well, God says all have sinned. It must mean you and me.”
“No, I know you well enough. You’ve been a good girl too.”
“Maybe when you look at me, but it’s God who has to decide.” And then, because Felix didn’t know what else to say, she just said, “Let’s pray about it.”
It wasn’t very easy, but she knew that God could do what nobody else could do, and so she asked Him to save her friend. And then she said, “Now, Lena, would you like to pray?”
This was new. I don’t think Lena had ever prayed like that before, although she had often been to church. But her friend’s prayer was just simply talking to God, and so she did. “Lord Jesus,” she said, “thank you for showing me that I am a sinner . . . and . . . thank you for dying for me.”
Did you know that that’s all it takes? The Lord Jesus saves sinners, but He doesn’t save people who don’t believe that they are sinners. He saves sinners from their sins because, as the Bible tells us over and over, Christ died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3), and He bore our sins in His own body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). That is why, just before He died, He cried loudly, “It is finished!” He has left nothing for us to do except to believe this with all our hearts. And He has promised, “He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 6:4747Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)).
So Felix got her birthday present, and she was so happy. It was a costly gift, but the Lord Jesus paid for it with His precious blood. And do you know who was most happy? The Lord Jesus was! Every person who is saved is the Father’s gift to His Son Jesus, and He is perfectly satisfied.
And when we are all taken home to the Father’s house in heaven, will you be there to share the family joy? You are welcome, if you come now.
ML-10/07/2001