After a few of the usual Sunday hymns, the church's
pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit, and
before he gave his sermon that evening, briefly introduced a
guest minister who was in the service.
In the introduction, the pastor told the congregation
that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood
friends and that he wanted him to have a few moments to
greet the church and share whatever he felt would be
appropiate for the service. With that, an elderly man
stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. This is what he
had to say:
"A father and a son, and a friend of his son's were
sailing off the Pacific coast," he began, "when a fast
approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to the
shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father
was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat
upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat
capsized."
The elderly man hesitated for a moment, making eye
contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time
since the service began, looking somewhat interested in his
story. The aged minister continued with his
story.
"Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the
most excruciating decision of his life. To which boy would
he throw the other end of the life line? He only had seconds
to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a
Christian and he also knew that his son's friend was not.
The agony of his decision could not be matched by the
torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, 'I love you,
son!', he threw the life line to his son's friend. By the
time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized
boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into
the black of night. His body was never
recovered."
By this time, the teenagers were sitting up straight
in the pew, anxiously waiting for the next words to come out
of the old minister's mouth.
"The father," he continued, "knew his son would step
into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought
of his son's friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus.
Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend.
How great is the love of God that He should do the same for
us. Our Heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son
that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to
rescue you and take a hold of the life line He is throwing
out to you in this service."
With that, the old man turned and sat back down in
his chair as silence filled the room. The pastor again
walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon
with an invitation at the end. However, no one responded to
the appeal.
Within minutes after the service ended, the two
teenagers were at the old minister's side. "That was a nice
story," one of them said, "but I don't think it was very
realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in
hopes that the other boy would become a
Christian."
"It sure isn't very realistic, is it?" the old
minister replied, "but I'm standing here today to tell you,
that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like
for God to give up His Son for me.
You see, I was that father . . . and your pastor over
there, is my son's
friend."
