(Read Acts 16:25-3425And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. 27And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (Acts 16:25‑34).)
“Which kitten would you like?”
This was not a hard choice for me. There were six of them - a sleepy one, a sick one, a cross one, a homely one, a frightened one, and then the cutest, friendliest, prettiest one you ever saw. Guess which one I chose?
Perhaps you have been scratched by one, or for some other reason you don’t like cats and wouldn’t choose any. But let me tell you something. The great and powerful God who made all things does not choose as I did, or as you might do. He has good reason to not want any one of us, for it was sinners like you and me who nailed His dear Son to a cruel cross. But instead of not wanting us, He has chosen to love us and invites lost sinners like us to accept His Son as our Saviour and to live in His home forever.
He does not choose those who are the prettiest or the friendliest or the smartest. He chooses sinners, just because He loves us.
And more than that, when He saves us He keeps us. My kitten ran away and I never saw it again. But the Saviour is able to keep His chosen ones forever and ever. And no one can take us away from Him either. “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” John 10:2828And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28). We are kept by the power of God.
When you read His invitation, remember that He is not calling good people; He is calling those who need Him most. If you think you don’t need Him, you will go where sinners go who refuse Him - to that place of suffering -the lake of fire. He has chosen to invite you to come to Him to be saved from your sins right now. Is your answer “Yes”?
ML-04/17/1994