There were but five passengers in the bus as it wended its way across the rolling Western prairies-five passengers from five different locations and with five different destinations. They had been brought together perhaps for the first and last time in life, and might never again meet in this world.
One of the five men knew the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, and he endeavored to offer a word of testimony to his companions on this occasion. The only response was the slow smile of hidden ridicule. Christ was offered and Christ was refused. Silence filled the air as the five passengers were carried along their way across the plains.
But there was another passenger traveling on that bus. Where he had boarded it no one could tell, and what seat he occupied no one could discern, for he was invisible. He too heard the testimony; he too was witness to the cruel rejection; and he too was occupied with a mission which was solemnly and peculiarly his very own. And as that bus passed a crossroads junction, he made his presence realized in a sharp and grim manner!
One moment there was silence; and the next, there was a sudden gasp from one of the passengers in the forward section, and the quick drop of a figure to the floor of the bus. With a squeal of brakes the vehicle ground to a stop, the driver turning to examine the crumpled form. The air was tense as the passengers gathered about, staring downward with grim fascination. The whole scene was still accentuated by the weight of the silence which filled the air. For a moment the driver said nothing. Then he raised his head slowly and, with an awed look on his face, said: "Well, gentlemen, we have had another passenger in this bus..."
"And his name is 'Death,' " murmured the passenger who had been seated behind him who had so suddenly left his earthly life for eternity.
The Christian faced the group and again he offered his word. "And there has been another Passenger on this bus. HIM you would not heed... His name is the Lord Jesus Christ."
But of course that reminder was waved away. Grim testimonies to the shortness of life and the nearness of eternity make the heart uncomfortable and call men to consideration of matters which they do not care to face. Are not their sole interests centered upon the fleeting affairs of the here and now? Yet the fact cannot be dismissed, for who can dismiss death, or bribe him to refrain from touching any life in his own time and season?
Death is the ever-present passenger in every "bus" of life hurrying along and across the byways and highways of this fleeting life. Sooner or later, he will make his presence known, and reach out with the grasp that cannot be evaded, nor refused, nor ignored, nor denied, nor ridiculed. Scripture warns "it is appointed unto men once to die" (Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)).
Death puts an end, sure and silent and final, to all pleasure and profit of earth. The final account is read in the grim balance: "for what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36, 3736For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36‑37).
But there is also this ever-present passenger upon these "buses" of life: the Man of Calvary. He alone is prepared and able to offer to everyone that receiveth Him that eternal life and salvation which is the glorious answer for every soul cleansed in His precious blood. This man, Christ Jesus, is the great Sin-Bearer; and while "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)), He, the unspeakable Gift of God, is "able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him."
Friend, receive this ever present Savior now. Make Him your welcome Lord for time and for eternity; and through His forgiveness of your many sins, He will give you deliverance from the claims of Satan and of death.