BBD 01.26.09 Who is Worth Saving?
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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01.26.09
Who is Worth Saving?
But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as
a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward
us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to
repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in
which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will
melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be
burned up. - 2 Peter 3:8-10.
Barry Baker thought that he was having a heart attack and called the
emergency number for help. Baker was 59 years old, lived alone and was
disabled after having hip replacement surgery. When the emergency personnel
arrived at Baker's home the telephone line to emergency services was still
open. The two emergency personnel that responded to the call discussed the
poor condition of the house and reportedly said, "words to the effect that
he was not worth saving." They decided that Mr. Baker was not worth the
trouble of trying to resuscitate, and that they would tell supervisors that
the man was already dead when they arrived. The entire conversation was
recorded over the open line. The personnel involved were arrested for
failure to perform "a duty in public office."
The two emergency services personnel involved in the above event decided
that they would act as God and determined that Barry Baker was not worth
saving. I wonder how many other times they have made similar decisions and
were not caught? Did they really not think the man was worth saving or were
they just lazy and not want to do their job?
The great evangelist Dwight L. Moody wrote, "For the last eleven years I
have not let a day pass without saying something to somebody of Christ. Make
it a rule that never a day pass without speaking for Christ. People won't
like it. If you are a living witness for Christ it makes people mad against
you. You will suffer persecution, and be spoken against, and yet they will
send for such a man first when they are in trouble or on their death-bed."
Moody tells a story of it being late in the day, and he had yet to share
Christ with anyone. As he was walking trying to find someone he encountered
a big rough looking man and thought to himself that it would be a waste of
time to share Christ with a man like that. However, since there was no one
else around, Moody stopped the man and told him about Jesus. To the great
surprise of Moody, the man immediately gave his life to Christ with many
tears.
Have you ever thought that it would be a waste of time to share Jesus with
someone? Have you failed to take advantage of an opportunity to tell someone
about what Jesus means to you because you thought they would not respond? Do
you look at some young people and think because of the way they are dressed,
or by the way that they are acting, or by their piercings and tattoos that
they would not want a relationship with the Lord? Do you see older people
talking with rough language and think they could never come to know the
Lord? When we fail to share Christ with others are we not doing something
very similar to what those two emergency personnel did with Mr. Baker? Are
we not taking the place of God and saying that they are not worthy of
eternal life?
Who is it that is worthy of eternal life? Who should we share Jesus with?
The apostle Peter says, "The Lord is not.willing that any should perish but
that all should come to repentance." Who is it that the Lord would have to
be saved? The answer is "all." The Lord wants "all" to be saved. Some may
reject our witness and the witness of the Holy Spirit through us, but it is
not up to us to try to determine in advance who will receive the Lord or who
will reject the Lord. Because it is not the Lord's will that "any should
perish."
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