A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
Everybody said the old man was stubborn and set in his ways, and there was no way he would ever become a Christian. People had certainly tried to convince him of his need. A deacon went; he said no. The pastor went; he refused. But my dear mother never gave up on anybody. So she drove over to his house. He cautiously invited her to come in. After a brief conversation, she asked him, “Don’t you want to go to Heaven when you die and be with Jesus?”
“Of course I do,” he answered, with sudden tears.
“Then why don’t you take Jesus as your Savior?” she asked him quietly.
“I don’t know how,” he confessed.
He wasn’t the hardened sinner that everybody assumed he was. He honestly didn’t know how to trust Jesus. So Mother showed him from the Bible how simple it is: Tell Jesus you want Him, you need Him, and you are taking the gift He offers. That day that “hardened sinner” became a trusting child of God. We Christians may wrongly assume everybody knows the way to Heaven, and if they aren’t a Christian, it’s because they choose not be. Might it be they don’t know how to trust Christ? God has given us many sweet and simple pictures of what trusting Jesus is like that might help a friend of yours to believe.
Trusting Jesus is like—
Your body is burning with fever, and you can’t get your breath. Death lurks in the room. You barely
have strength to call the doctor. He comes, examines you carefully, and then gives you the antitoxin that
gives you life (Mark 2:17).
Trusting Jesus is like—
You are in a small boat, and a storm sweeps you out to sea. The engine coughs and dies. Large waves
threaten to swamp you. You radio an SOS, and the Coast Guard answers immediately. But before they canget to you, a huge wave washes you overboard. Then, fighting the surging waves for your life, you hear the
beat of a helicopter. The coast guard lowers a man on a line. He then lifts you to warmth and safety
(Hebrews 11:7).
Trusting Jesus is like—
Your automobile stalls on a lonely highway in the very middle of the blinding heat of a desert. You
hadn’t anticipated a delay, so you have no water. You search the horizon for some sign of civilization. Hours
pass. You are so thirsty your mouth is parched. Then you hear an automobile. It’s the state police. They offer
you sweet, cold, life-giving water (John 4:13,14).
Trusting Jesus is like—
You were born to a mother who didn’t want you. She tried to abort you, and when you were born, she
threw you into a ditch and forgot about you. But a godly man happened to hear your cry. He brought you
home, adopted you, and gave you all his treasures (Ezekiel 16:1-6; Romans 8:15,16).
Trusting Jesus is like—
You are a prisoner accused of murder. The jury finds you guilty; the judge pronounces the sentence of
death. And then that judge stands up, takes off his judicial robes, steps down to stand beside you and says: “I
will die in your place. I will pay the penalty of your sin.” The judge does die in your place like the law
requires, but He rises from the dead, and welcomes you into His Heavenly home forever (Hebrews 10:6-12).
. . . And that’s the simple Gospel. You need only to admit your need, ask for forgiveness, and take His free gift of forgiveness of every sin. He gives you eternal life. It’s sounds almost too good to true, but it is true, thank God.
“Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved” (Romans 10:13)