Betty Heath was dying, but she would not believe she was near eternity. She kept expecting to get better and wouldn’t give up hope of life. When urged to come to Christ, she would only say, “I have to think about it.”
A Christian friend determined to tell her the truth. He came and found that her Bible had been thrown aside. Gasping for breath as she lay dying, she was still trying to drown the voice of her conscience.
The Christian said gently, “Betty, don’t you know that you are very near the end of your life? Has no one told you the truth, that the doctor has said your case is hopeless? You will meet God in a few hours!”
A despairing look came into her eyes. “Are you sure what you’ve told me is true?”
“Yes, I’m sorry, but it’s true,” he answered sadly, “and I came with a message of God’s love for the last time. Will you accept Christ now?”
Her final answer was given: “Not tonight.”
The next day she was gone. She died with bitter curses against God and herself. “Lost!” she cried. “Too late! I have thrown away my opportunity!”
Don’t wait. A deathbed is a difficult place for repentance. Come today! It may be too late tomorrow.
Come to Christ with your heavy heart, and He will give you rest. Come with your troubled, burdened conscience, and He will give you peace. He says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)).
There is no true rest to be found on earth. Friends fail us, and the world cannot satisfy us. The harp of life has broken strings on it. Then come to Jesus and come now. He offers forgiveness, rest and peace.
Do you want a happy home in heaven? You must come as a bankrupt sinner to a rich and giving Christ, as one having nothing to the One who possesses all, as one guilty and lost to the One who pardons and forgives.
You must come with eyes of faith to see the living Saviour, with ears of faith to hear His welcome to you, with a heart of faith to believe unto righteousness and with lips of faith to confess His name.