October 7: Reconciliation
"Other religions deal with sins; the Bible alone deals with sin."
I'll never forget that day that I was grading papers while substitute teaching when a girl came and sat by my desk. Her eyes bored into me with such intensity as she asked, "Mrs. Jane, a friend of mine had an abortion. Does that mean she will go to hell?"
It didn't take a mind reader to see that this girl was that 'friend,' so I answered her with equal intensity, "You have to understand that NO ONE ever goes to hell because of the bad things they have done, and NO ONE ever goes to heaven because of the good things they have done. People go to hell because they choose to reject Jesus. People only get to go to heaven if they choose to let Jesus take over and become the Boss of their life and let Him change them to be like Him."
She was very startled by that answer, and a variety of emotions flitted across her face. First, was hope and joy, but that was quickly followed by puzzlement, resistance, and finally, hardness. From the conversation that followed, I surmised that her fear of hell was not as great as her fear of being like everyone else around her. She didn't want anyone else telling her what she should do.
Dear Jesus, I pray for all the people that we will meet who are so completely deluded by sin. They are so fatalistic in their attitude that it is hard to reach them. Please give Your supernatural wisdom to the children of my heart as you let them be shining lights in such an ocean of darkness. Please help them to resist the pull of the world that their friends think is so important. Help them always be able to see the TRUTH!!
I'll never forget that day that I was grading papers while substitute teaching when a girl came and sat by my desk. Her eyes bored into me with such intensity as she asked, "Mrs. Jane, a friend of mine had an abortion. Does that mean she will go to hell?"
It didn't take a mind reader to see that this girl was that 'friend,' so I answered her with equal intensity, "You have to understand that NO ONE ever goes to hell because of the bad things they have done, and NO ONE ever goes to heaven because of the good things they have done. People go to hell because they choose to reject Jesus. People only get to go to heaven if they choose to let Jesus take over and become the Boss of their life and let Him change them to be like Him."
She was very startled by that answer, and a variety of emotions flitted across her face. First, was hope and joy, but that was quickly followed by puzzlement, resistance, and finally, hardness. From the conversation that followed, I surmised that her fear of hell was not as great as her fear of being like everyone else around her. She didn't want anyone else telling her what she should do.
Dear Jesus, I pray for all the people that we will meet who are so completely deluded by sin. They are so fatalistic in their attitude that it is hard to reach them. Please give Your supernatural wisdom to the children of my heart as you let them be shining lights in such an ocean of darkness. Please help them to resist the pull of the world that their friends think is so important. Help them always be able to see the TRUTH!!
posted by Jane at 4:05 AM
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