Scripture: Hebrews 2:9
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
I have a friend... his name is Gary. Gary recently suffered a massive heart attack, and was hospitalized for about a week. We are very close, he and I... and the circumstances of his heart condition have caused me to contemplate the process of life, which, by definition, involves death.
On a physical level, it grieves my heart that my dear friend is facing the very real possibility of physical death. On a spiritual level, however, we can understand that death, eternal spiritual death... is the just payment for sin. (Romans 6:23), and that every one of us is guilty of that sin (Romans 3:23). Of the two types of death - I am far more concerned with the latter... and as it relates to my friend, it has placed my heart in a vise in recent days.
It occurs to me that many people I speak to about death, tell me about their feelings of regret or remorse that they did not share the Gospel with their loved ones prior to their passing. I, on the other hand, have been having similar feelings as they relate to the way I interact with Gary. I have asked the Lord many, many times, "What more can I possibly do? How can I be a more effective witness, Lord?"
It is my heart's desire to see Gary accept the love of Christ prior to his physical passing from life to death. However, I am quick to recognize that this is really out of my hands. Every man has a choice - a free will - to choose either for or against Christ. As you can imagine - I am struggling internally with this - as an evangelist, I desperately want my friend to get saved, and yet, I realize that it is not anything within "me" that will bring Gary to this point, but it is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that must work upon his heart.
And then I came across this passage in the Scriptures. What a wonderful encouragement! It is this same Jesus that has in fact demonstrated the very grace of God - that we might not HAVE to experience the spiritual death!! And while this does not in any way remove the burden of my friend to "choose" Christ, it greatly encourages me to be reminded from God's Word that the way out does indeed exist!!
The illness of my friend is only one of the several very substantial issues that have cropped up in my life in recent weeks, and they all seem to have had a similar impact on my heart. To say it has been a difficult few weeks would be an understatement of gross proportions. And yet - in spite of it all, I trust in the grace of God, and His ability to forgive sin, and bring about fruit - even through the difficult times.
Would you join me in prayer, not only for the salvation of my friend, Gary, but for the restoration and healing of hurts that, to be quite honest, I believe only the Lord can heal? I am ever grateful for the witness that the Lord has allowed us on the WWW, and now I am asking for your support in prayer for the things and people that are most important to me. Thank you, and God bless you in advance!! I pray that I can report back victories in the weeks and months to come.
If you would like to contact me personally, please feel free to email me.
Copyright © 1996 Eric S. Reamer, all rights reserved