Wednesday, September 3, 2003

Our daughter was driving through town with our four-year-old grandson in the back seat. As she passed a local senior housing facility, she said, "Honey, that's where my grandfather lived until he died." At that point, our four-year-old jumped in with a respectful correction of his Mommy's choice of words. "Until Jesus called him home," he said. There was a pause -- and then our grandson added -- "And someday Jesus will call me home, too."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Last Call."

Not bad for a four-year-old -- well, OK, so I sound like a grandfather now. But that little guy actually has this death thing figured out better than a lot of us grownup people do. We don't decide when it's over. God does. And the thing you want to have happen on the day you take your last breath is for Jesus to call you home to heaven. Unfortunately, not everyone's going home. And the alternative is too eternally awful to contemplate.

The Bible makes it clear in 1 John 5:11 and 12, our word for today from the Word of God, that we're all in one of two groups, headed for one of two possible destinations. It says, "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." Notice it doesn't say eternal life is in His religion or His rules or in living right. The only One who can get us to heaven is His Son, who died to pay for all the sin we all have, sin that makes it impossible for us to enter a holy God's heaven. The Bible continues: "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

Well, there it is. Either you're totally forgiven or you're still carrying your sin and its penalty. Either you're headed for heaven or you're headed for hell. And Jesus indicated that there will be surprises both places -- people that humans would never forgive who are going to be in heaven because they pinned all their hopes for rescue on Jesus ... and people in hell who had tons of Christianity but somehow missed grabbing Jesus as if He were their only hope.

The truth is that your last call can come at any time. Speaking to God in Psalm 139:16 , King David says, "All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." You're not going to die until your work on earth is done. And you can't stay one day longer when it is done. And God decides when that is. For a 17-year-old girl who attended a youth event I spoke for just a couple of weeks ago, the call came in head-on collision on the way home. And because she had put her trust in Jesus, when she got the call, she was called home.

You can't postpone God's call. And you can't be ready for it any other way than to be sure you belong to Jesus, the only One who can remove the sin that will keep you out of heaven.

You say, "But I'm a good person." Not good enough -- for a perfect God. That's why Jesus came. Why He died. Why He rose again. And it's why He's knocking on the door of your heart this very day. He wants you in heaven with Him forever. But you have to choose that -- by consciously and totally giving yourself to Him. If you've never really done that, let this be the day you finally say, "Jesus, I'm Yours."

I wrote a booklet about beginning your personal relationship with Jesus -- it's called "Yours For Life." I'd love to send it to you if you'll just let me know you want it. I think it will help you make sure you really belong to Him.

You're another day closer to the day the call will come. It just doesn't make sense to risk one more day without Jesus. He's calling you right now to give Him you -- so that one day, when the last call comes, He can call you home.