Do you think it is possible to be in trouble and not know it? Ian and Jim learned the answer to that question.
One day they rowed their boat to a little island, which was only a large rock in the harbor of the fishing village where they lived. They got out of their boat and pulled it up on the rock.
They were having lots of fun playing on their own island! No one else was there to tell them to be quiet or in any way spoil their fun.
All of us like to have our own way. Nobody wants to be told what to do or what not to do. However, “there is a way that [seems] right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:2525There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 16:25)).
Are you one of those people that think they can do as they please, and that since they only live once, they might as well enjoy it? They say that when you die, that is the end of you. Their whole idea is this: “Rejoice ... in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes” (Ecclesiastes 11:99Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. (Ecclesiastes 11:9)). They forget the end of the verse: “But know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” So they go on living without thinking about God and that someday they will face Him.
While Ian and Jim were playing, the tide rose high enough to make their boat float off the rock and begin to drift away. The boys were stranded on their island, but they didn’t know they were in trouble. They were so busy playing that they never thought about the tide coming in.
When the two boys decided it was time to head home, they had an unhappy surprise when they discovered their boat was gone. They could see it drifting away and out of their reach.
Do you think they went on playing and having fun? No! They began to call loudly, “HELP! HELP!”
People in the fishing village heard them calling. It wasn’t long before a motorboat headed out to their little rock island to rescue them and their drifting boat.
Maybe you have not thought about it, but it is dangerous to go on without calling to God for help. God’s punishment for sin is ahead for all who do not trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)).
When they heard the boy’s calls for help, the villagers on shore rescued them. And the Lord Jesus, who loves you, will hear your call to Him and will rescue you from your sins. He said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)).
Are you still stranded in your sins? Have you called for help?
ML-05/20/2012