The firefighters were horrified when they entered the house. There in the bedroom were the lifeless bodies of a young mother and her two small sons. All three had died from a lack of oxygen as the fire blazed fiercely in their home. Fire department spokesman John Hansen held in his hands the charred remains of a smoke detector that had failed to sound the alarm.
“The battery wasn’t in it,” he said.
What a tragedy! Three lives were lost which might have been saved if only the smoke detector had a battery in it.
No one likes the sound of a smoke alarm. Its strident shriek sets the nerves on edge and fills the hearer with alarm. But the noise, however unpleasant, is necessary if lives are to be saved.
Perhaps the warnings of the gospel message, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” grate on your ears (Rom. 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23); Heb. 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)).
Perhaps you try to shut out the sound by saying, “That’s for the alcoholic and the drug dealer; I’m OK.”
Maybe you feel that there is plenty of time yet for you and you can postpone consideration of serious things for a few years yet.
The warnings, however, are necessary. If they are ignored, or if their loud call of alarm is dulled or obliterated, the result is tragedy. Because of a smoke alarm which contained no battery, and so sounded out no warning, three people died. If you close your ears to the warnings of judgment to come, the result will be terrible—an eternity in hell without Christ.
Won’t you accept His gift right now and receive the Lord Jesus as your own personal Savior?