"For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish,
but have
everlasting life.
For God sent
not his Son into the world to condemn the world:
but that the
world through him might be saved."
John 3:16-17
The
Storm
(A Inspiring Sunday Inspiration ~ Author Known To God)
After a few of the usual Sunday
hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up,
walked over to the pulpit, and before he gave
his sermon that evening, briefly introduced a
guest minister who was in the service.
In the introduction, the pastor
told the congregation that the guest minister
was one of his dearest childhood friends and
that he wanted him to have a few moments to
greet the church and share whatever he felt
would be appropriate for the service. With that,
an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and
began to speak. This is what he had to say:
"A father and a son, and a friend
of his son's were sailing off the Pacific
coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm
blocked any attempt to get back to the shore.
The waves were so high, that even though the
father was an experienced sailor, he could not
keep the boat upright and the three were swept
into the ocean as the boat capsized."
The elderly man hesitated for a
moment, making eye contact with two teenagers
who were, for the first time since the service
began, looking somewhat interested in his story.
The aged minister continued with his story.
"Grabbing a rescue line, the
father had to make the most excruciating
decision of his life. To which boy would he
throw the other end of the life line? He only
had seconds to make the decision. The father
knew that his son was a Christian and he also
knew that his son's friend was not. The agony of
his decision could not be matched by the torrent
of waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love you,
son!', he threw the life line to his son's
friend. By the time the father had pulled the
friend back to the capsized boat, his son had
disappeared beneath the raging swells into the
black of night. His body was never recovered."
By this time, the teenagers were
sitting up straight in the pew, anxiously
waiting for the next words to come out of the
old minister's mouth.
"The father," he continued, "knew
his son would step into eternity with Jesus and
he could not bear the thought of his son's
friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus.
Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the
son's friend. How great is the love of God that
He should do the same for us. Our Heavenly
Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we
could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer
to rescue you and take a hold of the life line
He is throwing out to you in this service."
With that, the old man turned and
sat back down in his chair as silence filled the
room. The pastor again walked slowly to the
pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an
invitation at the end. However, no one responded
to the appeal.
Within minutes after the service
ended, the two teenagers were at the old
minister's side. "That was a nice story," one of
them said, "but I don't think it was very
realistic for a father to give up his only son's
life in hopes that the other boy would become a
Christian."
"It sure isn't very realistic, is
it?" the old minister replied, "but I'm standing
here today to tell you, that story gives me a
glimpse of what it must have been like for God
to give up His Son for me.
You see, I was that father . . .
and your pastor over there, is my son's friend."
|