One day, while we were driving through a village not far from where we live, we passed a house with what looked like a brand new hot tub sitting in its front courtyard. It had a big FOR SALE sign taped to it. I was reminded of the man who refurbished his kitchen and found himself with a fridge he no longer needed. He placed it beside the road, with a sign saying “Free to collect. In working order.” After several days, the fridge was still there. In a moment of inspiration, he changed the sign, taping a simple piece of paper on the door of the fridge, on which was written 50 $. By the next morning it had disappeared.
This anecdote brings into focus two verses, one gives us the words of Jesus from John 10:10-29 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
The other verse is from Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s strange that if we are offered something free, we tend not to value it. We even refuse it altogether. This is all too often the case with the gift of eternal life which Jesus promises us when we choose to put our trust in him. How many times have you shared the good news of the Gospel only to have it refused, even being mocked and derided in the process? Maybe, like me, you’ve gone away wondering whether it was your fault, if in some way, you managed to mess up the message. But it’s more likely that the individual to whom you were speaking had a hard or an indifferent heart. Whatever evidence you could have presented, they’d already made up their mind NOT to believe.
In Jesus’ parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich man died, and found himself in hell, suffering the eternal flames of judgement. He raised his eyes in agony, only to see Lazarus, the beggar who used to sit at his gate, now resting on the bosom of Abraham in heaven. The rich man pleaded for Abraham to send Lazarus back to earth to warn his brothers of the fate that awaited them if they do not change their ways.
“‘…I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “[Abraham] said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Sadly, this parable is all too true. Too many people refuse to be convinced, even though someone HAS risen from the dead. Mainly because they don’t want to admit that they are sinners, and they can only gain eternal life because Jesus died on the cross for their sins to be forgiven, and… that he rose again to give them his life.
They’d prefer to earn their reward by their own merit, or to win it, or get it by some kind of trickery, like the thief who climbed in over the wall. Others try to gain it by membership of a secret organisation such as Freemasonry, thus demonstrating how superior they are compared to the uninitiated. But they are not superior, nor are they wise, rather they are blind and stubborn. Yet despite the stubbornness of the majority of people, around the world and throughout the ages, there are still times when God extends mercy, even though it is entirely undeserved.
Often this window of mercy follows times of intense intercession, whether for individuals or for nations. What is amazing is that sometimes it only takes a few folk to tip the balance. A few faithful and fervent believers who pour out their hearts to the Lord. A few fearless warriors prepared to stand in the gap and if necessary give their own lives for the sake of the Gospel.
I believe we are standing on the edge of an end-time revival, but who will stand ? Will the Church? Maybe there are still a few resolute souls whose faith has not been smothered by the blanket of inertia that has spread through many Churches. Or maybe it will be among the “refugees” who now meet outside the Church, faithful believers who follow Jesus, rather than a dead and dying religion.This is the dreadful state in which most of the Church finds itself… Will you and I be counted among that small but resolute band ready to stand in the gap? Not only that, will we prostrate ourselves in the dust as we call out to God, that despite the just and thoroughly deserved judgement that is coming, God will remember mercy? Lord, extend grace, in your mercy, pour out your Holy Spirit, while there is still time.
With love in Jesus,
Sarah
Sarah Cunnington
Sarah Cunnington is a Christian artist and (more recently) writer, who has been living in France with her husband Martyn since 2005, where they jointly lead a small English speaking House Church.
She became a Christian at the age of 25 following a dramatic encounter with Jesus Christ, which totally changed the direction of her life. Now, with family in the Chesterfield area, Redeemer King has become her home Church whenever she's back in the UK.
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