End of the Road

End of the road. Have you ever wondered what its going to be like when you reach the end of the road? Will you look around and think “Wow, I’m already here?” wondering if there was more you needed to do or could have done.

When we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior it doesn’t end there. That’s when the real work begins. We are to share the Good News of Jesus and what He did for us. I say real work but truthfully sharing what Jesus did for you isn’t so hard to do; it’s the rejection or jeering of your faith that can be hard to accept. Being laughed at or ridiculed or even ignored can be hard to swallow and sometimes leave you feeling like you don’t want to share anymore.

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.'”

Mark 16:15

Imagine you are one of the first Christians ever. You believe that Jesus is the Son of God and accept that He is Lord and Savior. You go out into your neighborhood ready to share the Good News about Jesus and what He did for you. You knock on the door and step back waiting for someone to open the door. While you’re waiting, your body hums with anticipation and you begin to do a little dance right there at the front door just as your neighbor opens the door. He looks at you as if to say “what are you doing”? He arches his brow while resting his hand on the door ready to shut it in your face. You chuckle and tell him you have exciting news and are eager to share it with others. You start to tell him about Jesus and all of the things you have witnessed but before you finish telling him your exciting news, you get arrested and taken away. Arrested for telling others about Jesus and what He did for you. Turns out your neighbor was a high ranking official in the Roman empire. Penalty for sharing the Gospel? Death.

You sit in prison waiting for your execution date. Do you give up? Do you crawl in a corner and wonder why this is happening? You’ve seen the miracles Jesus performed. You’ve sat under His teachings and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. The King of kings and Lord of lords. You know this and even though you are a prisoner awaiting execution you begin sharing with other prisoners about the miracles and what He did for you. The day of your execution comes and as you are led away you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will one day see some of your fellow prisoners because they too believed and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Present day – So now imagine your home flipping channels and you come across another television evangelist. You’ve heard all about Christ Jesus and how He died on the cross for you. How He took your sins and bore your stripes on bare flesh, dying on the cross so you could live. That’s right. You. At first you may be thinking, yeah right like that makes a difference nowadays. It’s just talk. It doesn’t mean a thing. Besides there are so many preachers and religious freaks out there with their crazy talk that its easy to believe its all hype and that stuff isn’t for the present age; so you ignore the call, the still small voice speaking to your inner man. Maybe you feel that twinge of guilt or maybe not, regardless, you go about your day ignoring that feeling that you’re missing something.

It just so happens you get pulled over for speeding. You pull into the parking lot of a church which happens to be having an event going on that day. The officer walks up to your driver’s side and asks for your information. He retreats to his vehicle to check you out. No warrants. No outstanding tickets. He returns to your vehicle and returns your identification to you.

He then nods toward the event and says “you should check it out” then returns to his vehicle and leaves you sitting there with your jaw hanging down. What? Wait that officer just let me go and suggests I go to an event? Your tempted to ignore the suggestion but there was something about the way he said it that makes you curious. So you pull further into the parking lot and park your vehicle. You walk up to the door and the man asks if you have a ticket. You tell him no but it was recommended to you to check it out. He chuckles and tells you to go on inside and to enjoy the event. Now you’re really curious. This is the second time you didn’t have to pay. First the officer let’s you off without giving you a ticket. Then the guy manning the door let’s you in without a ticket.

Wait…you recognize that song. Its a song you’ve heard on the radio before when you were flipping through the channels looking for something to listen too. There on the platform you can see a band playing and from the looks on the faces of the people present, they recognize the band. They weren’t locals. In fact it looks like they might be famous from the reaction of the crowd. Then a man stands up to speak and before you know it you get caught up in the message and before you leave you go forward during altar call and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. It turns out the man on the platform is the police officer who stopped you as he was about to go off duty. He had shared about how he had been shot in the line of duty, died and was brought back to life, and how now he shares the Good News of Jesus Christ every chance he gets. Maybe you or someone you know is that person who was given a second chance. Or maybe you are the one who scoffed and didn’t want to listen to the still small voice speaking to your inner man.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Whether your already saved or maybe your at a crossroad, God loves you so much that He gave up His only Son just for you. That’s right for you because He loves you so much and wants you to have a personal relationship with Him. If you already know Jesus as your Savior, awesome! If you don’t but are ready to know Him, pray a simple pray of faith. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just sincere acknowledging who you are (a sinner), who Jesus is (Son of the Living God), asking God for forgiveness of your sins, accepting His forgiveness, and believing that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. I am a sinner saved by grace. God’s grace. Are you? God bless! 💗