Roger was a good swimmer and. deliver. In fact he was the swimming instructor at a large college for men.
One night he could not sleep and dided to slip into the swimming pool and have a swim, thinking that the exercise might later put him to sleep.
“I did not put on the lights in the pool,” he says, “for I knew every inch of the place, and the roof was made of glass. The moon shone through, throwing the shadow of my body on the wall at the other end, making a perfect cross. I cannot explain why I did not dive at that moment. As I stood looking at the shadow of the cross, I began to think of the Cross of Christ and its meaning. I was not a Christian, but I found myself repeating the words of a hymn I had learned as a boy.
“He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to do us good,
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by His precious blood.
“I cannot say how long I stood poised on the diving board, or why I did not dive. I came down from the board and walked along the pool to the steps that I knew led to the bottom of the pool and began to descend. I reached the bottom and my feet touched the cold, smooth floor of the pool. The night before, the caretaker had drained the pool dry, and I knew nothing about it. I realized then that had I dived, I would have dived to my death.
“The cross on the wall saved me that night. I was so thankful to God for His mercy in sparing my life that I knelt on the cold bricks and asked the Lord Jesus Christ to save my soul. I experienced a two-fold deliverance that night, for the Lord heard my cry and gave me peace and the joy of knowing that my sins were forgiven. I knew I I was saved.”
Roger was not only delivered from physical death, but from eternal death as well. Though a clean living fellow, nevertheless he was unprepared for eternity, and had he been killed his soul would have gone to hell. But God in His mercy spared him.
And now, dear friend, how is it with you? Are you prepared for eternity, or no? Are you on your way to heaven, or to hell? This may be the last “Messages of the Love of God” you will ever read; this may be your last opportunity to be saved. We plead with you to make the Lord Jesus your Savi our NOW; then you will have a new life in Christ, you will have peace with God, and come what may, you will be able to look forward to spending eternity with Christ, in heaven—the home of the redeemed.
ML 07/19/1959