A recent article about the “Cocoanut Grove Fire” brings sad memories to the few still living who remember the tragedy that occurred in Boston many years ago. On the night of that terrible fire, the building was filled with many more guests than was considered safe. Then when fire broke out in the basement, it spread up the stairs so rapidly that the crowd was panic-stricken. To make matters worse, the side doors were locked, and the main door was a narrow revolving door allowing only one person to get out at a time. With so many people pushing to get out that door, it soon became blocked from revolving. Then nobody could get out until firemen dismantled it. Nearly five hundred people died there that night — truly a terribly dreadful night to remember.
Being trapped is one thing, but being trapped without hope is far sadder. This reminds us of what we read in the Bible, declaring how people are held by the “cords of ... sins.” Sin is something that God hates very much. But the good news is that while God hates sin, He loves the sinner and He does love you! In fact, God has made full provision for setting men and women free, who are trapped in the cords of sin. What God did was to send His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to suffer and die on a cross as a perfect substitute for the consequences of our sins. We sin because we like to. When we try to live our lives without any reference to God and live to please ourselves, we cannot be happy. The Bible tells us that “if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:3636If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)).
It is a wonderful thing to have our sins forgiven and to be delivered from the wrath to come. The people in the Cocoanut Grove nightclub were very much in earnest and tried to flee, but many could not escape. But for you, while you’re reading this message, you have an opportunity to flee to Christ and be eternally saved. God now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.