Vantage Point
Urgency for Souls
Last year it was reported that a man was injured in a
surprising way. He had just arrived home following a trip and was unpacking his
suitcase when a rattlesnake struck, sinking its fangs into him and injecting
its deadly venom.
The snake had slithered into his bag unnoticed on the other
end of the trip. After a long confined journey, the critter was understandably
not in a good mood when the lid was raised.
The startled victim didn’t die, but this kind of incident
gives food for thought to those who are waiting to make their decision for
Jesus Christ.
As a youngster I heard the “You could walk out the door of
this church and be struck and killed by a car” altar call many times. Though
seemingly cliché, the warning is still true. One never knows what surprising
occurrences await in life, both good and bad.
Many people who know the truth seem to think they are
guaranteed the time they need to make things right with God. I’ll certainly
have time to call out to God, they might think, relying on the words of Romans
10:13: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (NIV). But it
may not be so. Sudden tragedy could indeed strike, like being hit by a vehicle
… or being attacked by a snake in your luggage.
But a less dramatic scenario could actually be more
dangerous. Multitudes of people die in their sleep. People who die in their
sleep do not even have a split second of warning to call upon the name of the
Lord.
Christians have the privilege of living with the peace of
God, but we should never let that cause us to live without a sense of urgency
for the lost. Souls hang in the balance every day. “Now is the day of
salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Ken Horn
E-mail your comments to pe@ag.org.
