Memory Verse: “As it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.” Hebrews 9:27-28
Most of us like a thrill. One of the biggest thrills you can have is skiving where men and women jump from airplanes and perform acratic tricks in the air. They wait as long as they can before opening (popping) their parachutes. Skiving has attracted many thrill seekers. The thrill of the air rushing past you is exciting. Practicing tricks with your friends is fun. Those moments of suspense are exciting as you wait for your parachute to “pop” while the ground speeds toward you just a little too fast. Then, with a jerk, it opens, and you are floating gently in the breeze. Soon you are on the ground, wanting to try again! It gets into your blood!
Not long ago a young man in southern California tried it again. Nothing went wrong with the plane. Nothing went wrong with the parachute. The weather was good, a bit windy, but nothing to worry about —or so he thought. But it was the wind that caused the problem. It carried the young man’s parachute over some high-tension electrical wires. The exciting day and the great dive turned into a terrible tragedy. The parachute got hung up in electrical wires. When his feet touched the ground he was immediately electrocuted!
It was a very sad group of friends and other skydivers that watched the rescue squad cut the young victim out of his parachute. One of the other divers, a young lady, began to cry hysterically. One of the instructors turned to her and said sternly, “Don’t cry, lady! If you can’t pay the price, don’t throw the dice!”
You might think this was an awful thing to say. The parachutist had gambled his life for a thrill and had lost. But how many people today are gambling away their lives for the pleasures that sin has to offer. “If you can’t pay the price, don’t throw the dice!” God has said, “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23. He also warns, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27. Are you really willing to pay the price?
How much better it would be to accept God’s loving gift— “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. Don’t gamble away your life. Accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Saviour today.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
ML-01/03/1982