No Sinner Saved, Except...

In the last several weeks I have known of two friends who have come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. One of them is my dad. I would like to tell you how this came about. Maybe this same approach can be used to lead one of your loved one’s to the Savior as well. About twelve weeks ago, I introduced my dad to one of our Lamplighter books. It was Buried in the Snow. He called me and told me how moved he was while reading this dramatic story. My mother called and told me the rest of the story—that he was in tears through most of the book. This is a very emotional story—for both young and old alike. Then he read Shipwrecked and loved that story too…I could tell that his heart was being touched by the stories. Then he began reading several at a time…Hidden Hand, then Ishmael, then That Printer of Udell’s, then Winters Folly, then Robbers Cave, then Basket of Flowers, then A Peep Behind the Scenes, and then most recently, Christies Old Organ. This was the book that presented the gospel so clearly, that my dad followed old Treffie right to door of “home sweet home.” A new child of God!

As I read the parable of the Sower of the Seed in Matthew 13, I am reminded that the Word is easily snatched away from those who hear the Word but do not understand it: “When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then comes the wicked one, and snatches away that which was sown in his heart. Another received the Word initially with joy but when facing difficulty, they fall away. Yet another received the Word among thorns (worldly and immoral influences of their past) and because they do not separate from these influences, they become unfruitful. But he that receives seed into good ground is he that hears the Word, and understands it, which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. It was the continual hearing of the Word through these unique stories that brought my seventy-six year old dad to the Lord. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “No man will ever be brought to repentance, to faith and life in Christ, apart from the constant application of the Truth through the Spirit.” Too often we present Christ through His Word without this constant application of the Truth and involvement of the Spirit. Think about it: The apostles listened to the Word every day for three years…and some of them, like Peter didn’t understand until the end of the third year. Sharing Christ must be viewed as a relentless passionate pursuit of souls.

It is noteworthy that this good ground hearer not only understood the Word, but also bore fruit. Jesus said that if you abide in me and my Word abides in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done for you. For believers and especially for new believers, it is essential that the Word abides in you, so that you will have the faith to believe that the Lord will indeed answer your prayers. I believe that the these early days of a new believer’s life is so important. I can remember how many times God answered my prayers during those early days and how strong I became as I began to abide in his Word. These are exciting days for a new believer. And even as I sit here in the ICU watching my dad who is in critical condition, I have seen the miracle of what the Seed of the Word can do when it finally enters good ground. It truly is a miracle…you can’t deny fruit when you see it! I wish I had time to tell you all about it; hopefully some day it will be in a book.