FISHERMAN JOE went down to the dock early one morning intending to get his boat ready for a fishing trip. Alas, when he got there his boat was gone. During the night one of the links in the chain had broken and his boat had drifted away out to sea and disappeared. The coast guard looked out over the water with his powerful telescope but even he could not spot Joe’s boat — it was gone forever.
Poor Joe felt very sad. How would he buy food and clothes for his wife and little children now that his boat was gone and he could catch no more fish? In his trouble he went to a Christian pastor and told him his boat had disappeared during the night.
“Did you not have it tied with a chain?”
“Yes, but one of the links broke,” answered Joe, “The rest seemed all right.”
The Christian man sought to comfort poor Joe and as they talked together he said, “You know, Joe, this reminds me of some people ling right in this village. They strive to live honest lives and think they are pretty good because they try to keep the ten commandments. But God’s commandments are like a chain of ten links. Did you say only one link in the chain was broken?”
“Yes,” answered Joe.
“And your boat was lost because only one link broke?” pursued his friend.
“That’s right,” said Joe. And then he was in a hurry to get away for now he realized what his friend was getting at. He saw that he was like his boat, that he had sinned, and had broken the holy law of God. Even if he had committed but one sin (and he well knew he had sinned often) yet that was enough to put him under the curse of a broken law — he was lost! He didn’t like to talk about it so hastily saying good-by he went on his way.
His Christian friend longed to tell him of the Saviour who had died to save sinners, for in the Bible we read, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” Gal. 3:1313Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (Galatians 3:13).
Not long after Joe was able to get another boat, but we hope that the loss of his first boat and the words of the preacher were used of God to make him think of his lost condition and that he turned to the Lord Jesus for the salvation of his soul. We hope his little children also grew up to learn of the Saviour’s love. If this was so then Joe would not be sorry for the loss of his boat, if through it he had found the Saviour and gained eternal life.
ML-06/16/1974