"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."
<J><E<>S<>U><S>< <S><A><V><E><S><
Giving God The
Glory In Every Thing!
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