SO WHO'D BE A CHRISTIAN?
Compare these stories...

THE MOTHER


A Mother of 3 young, happy, healthy children is thrilled with her life. She loves her children and her husband. She is so lucky to have him. He has a good job, and is a wonderful husband and father. They own their own home already and she is only 35! They plan to retire early and travel the world together. They have already saved just about enough to put their children through college when they are older, and are starting to invest extra money for their retirement.

Of course no-one gave all this to them, they have worked very hard for it, and have gone without many times in order to achieve their goals. But in the main, life has been good to them.

The mother has a good friend who often comes for afternoon tea before they collect their children from school. Her friend is a Christian who tells her of God's plan of salvation and that Jesus has died to save her. She is fond of her friend but she can get on your nerves sometimes. Who needs all this stuff anyway. It is for people who need something to believe in, it's a crutch for them to lean on.

One day this young mother goes to the doctor for some medicine. She has been feeling tired lately and seems to have a cough that refuses to leave. The doctor asks for some tests and she readily agrees. After all, there is nothing wrong, he just needs to get the right medicine to kill off this annoying cough.

A few days later she is called to the doctors office and oddly enough she is asked to bring her husband with her. The doctor sounds strange on the phone but wont tell her any more.

Now the happy young mother and her husband are in the doctors office. Not worried... but a little confused.
The Doctor is sympathetic as he releases his news, but there is nothing he can do... The young mother has cancer throughout her body, and has only a short time to live. Her children will grow up without her....



THE BOY

A young boy is hurt. He is 12 years old. He has been hurt many times before. His Mother is a drug addict and has a constant stream of different men in her life. There are so many men he has called Father that he can't remember all their names anymore.

Unfortunately his mother doesn't seem to pick men that like children and he has been used as a punching bag soooo many times.... His life is one pain filled moment after another. He longs for a mother to love him, to hold him in her arms and tell him that it will all stop. She will make it stop. She will feed him regular meals and wash his clothes. She will give him a decent place to live. Most of all, She will love him. But she never does....

Now he has had enough. He packs a few pitiful belongings into a bag and walks out into the night. He vows he will never return.

The young boy ends up in the sleazy side of town, and a friendly looking man offers him a place to stay for the night until he can find somewhere permanent. The boy is wary of strangers but this man looks to be safe, and he has nowhere else to go.

The man is not safe. He prays on young children running away from home. The boy is raped and beaten, and spends the rest of his childhood working the streets for the man he trusted to rescue him. As he grows older he escapes the man, and lives by mugging people and stealing.

He sees the Preachers on their corners calling people to Jesus. What would God want with him? He is alone and God never did anything to help him when he needed it. He throws an old apple core at the Preacher and yells abuse, and walks on.

One day he attacks a man walking down the street with a briefcase. He looks like he should have a fat wallet. The man asks to open his case to get out his wallet and the young man agrees. But this man does not have a wallet in his briefcase, he has a gun. The man aims the gun at the young man's chest and squeezes the trigger. The young man looks down and sees the blood start to flow.... He is going to die....



THE MAN

The man has had a very normal life. He had both a Mother and Father who loved him. He went to Sunday School and heard about Jesus. He got average grades in school, had the usual assortment of friends, and when he left school got a job at the local factory. The money isn't fantastic but it pays the bills.

He got married and had a couple of kids. They were normal kids who had the same sort of childhood that he did. They too grew up and married and had children of their own. Now he is a grandfather.

Nothing out of the ordinary has ever happened to this man. He has had life's ups and downs, changed jobs at various times, gone through money troubles and had money to spare at other times. Both he and his wife would have liked to have more to leave to their children when they die, but hey, That's life!

The man and his wife plan to spend their retirement quietly, maybe doing a bit of volunteer work for the Salvation Army or some other such group. After all, they have had it ok in their time and they've always given to charities that came knocking on their door. When he was younger, the man spent a lot of time working with his sons Boy Scout group. His wife was considered the welcoming committee in their neighborhood and they were once voted the "Most helpful neighbors" in their neighborhood.

He doesn't need Jesus in his life. He is managing quite well on his own. Never really had a need for God and all that religious stuff.

People respect this man. He is a good man. When ever there is someone in trouble or needs a hand, he is the first to offer help. He and his wife often took people into their own home while they got back on their feet. No wonder people like and respect this man.

Now the man sits in his rocking chair on his front porch. It is a wonderful day and his wife has gone to the kitchen to pour them both a cool drink. Suddenly he feels a tightening in his chest. His arm has gone numb. His wife arrives to see him slump in his chair. She calls his name but he can only stare at her with his hand clutched at his chest. He will never answer her call...


Three different stories of people's lives. The Mother had a wonderful life with money at hand. The boy had a terrible life and fought for his very survival. The man had an average life and was well thought of.

What do these people have in common?

One terrible tragedy is about to befall all these people. They are about to die... BUT THAT IS NOT THE TRAGEDY!

All these people heard the Gospel. They heard of the Love of God and His plan for their redemption. They were told that Jesus died on the cross so that their sins might be forgiven. They made a choice. They chose not to believe, and because of that choice they are condemned. When they die they will come face to face with God and will be judged. Because they have not chosen Jesus as their Lord and Savior they will go to Hell. And THAT IS THE TRAGEDY!

God does not promise a perfect life free from cares if you accept His Son as Savior. Indeed we are told in the Bible that as Christians we will be persecuted! We may have rotten lives. We may lose our loved ones or be begging for every crumb of bread. Or we could have what we consider a good life. We are human and now live in an imperfect world. We make mistakes. We fail. But with Jesus we can overcome. A Christian has hope. There is an afterlife. How we are going to spend that eternity is our choice.


The Bible says that each time a person accepts Jesus as Savior all the angels in Heaven rejoice. God wants you with Him. But He will not force you. You must make the choice for yourself.

The life of a Christian can be wonderful or at times may be like walking though a dark forest, but a Christian always has sight of the meadow beyond.




SO WHO'D BE A CHRISTIAN?


I WOULD! WHAT ABOUT YOU?