A STRANGE LETTER E ditor ’ s N ote : Have you wondered how you might reach your neighbors for Christ? The Faith, Prayer and Tract League of Grand Rapids, Michi gan, has suggested the following form as a personal letter to be sent by a Christian to those who live nearby. Per sonal adaptation along the way will be additionally helpful.
IpH
WéMMÈà
SHIN
Now, this experience did not come to me because I was any better or more deserving than you. In fact, it made me realize what a sinner I was. Oh, I hadn’t robbed anyone or lived an immoral life, but had insult ed almighty God by trying to make my own way to heaven instead o f ac cepting His. Perhaps you wonder why I feel obligated to tell you these things. Maybe I seem to be meddling in your personal affairs. Well, maybe I can explain it this way. If you and I were trapped in a burning building and I found a way out, what kind o f a friend would I be if I did not make every effort to let you know about it, too? God’s Word teaches that those who reject His way of salvation will be punished in hell (Matthew 13:41-42). I know this is not a pretty thought, but it is true. That is why I felt that somehow I must tell you the good news o f what Christ wants to do fo r us. I hope that you will want to study the Bible for yourself on this mat ter. I would be very happy to talk with you about this and to have you go to church with me. I will be pray ing that you will find Christ as your personal Saviour.
found and explained in St. John, chapter 3. The background is this: Nicode- mus with a self-righteous but unsat isfied heart comes to Christ, who as the Son o f God knows all things and understands the r e a s o n fo r this man’s inner restlessness. He knows that all men have a vacuum in their lives until they become members of God’s family. And so Christ tells Nicodemus that he needs to be born again (John 3 :3 ) . A t first Nicodemus did not under stand, and neither did I. Perhaps he found it difficult to believe in something which he could not see. That was when our Lord pointed out to him that he couldn’t see the wind either, but its effects were very real (verse 8 ). Being born again, then, is the necessary event in the life of God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, who died in our place for our sins. This is exactly what happened to me. When I appealed to Him in simple faith, Christ came into my heart and life, transformed me by His grace and gave me the peace and joy which I had long looked for. I used to think that there were mafiy ways to heaven. Then I learned that Jesus Christ said, “ I am the way, and the truth and the life : no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6 ).
(IkaA VbuqhboA, This may be the strangest letter you ever receive. As a matter o f fact, it is probably the strangest letter I will ever write. But I feel compelled to do so. I have known you for a long time now. We have often greeted one an other and talked o f many things: our children, our work, our gardens, and even that old favorite, the weather: But there is one thing which I have always meant to tell you that I never seem to get around to saying. This is the most impor tant thing in my life, so I am not sure why I never mentioned it. Maybe it was because I was afraid. I thought you might think I was being “ holier than thou” or even a little cracked. But I was thinking tonight that something could happen to me or to you, and I would have no more op portunity to tell you. So I am sit ting down right now to put my thoughts on paper. I hope you will read it through thoughtfully as a favor to me. Sometime back, in the providence o f God, I was born again. Maybe you have heard this term before and have wondered what it meant. It is not a mystical, cultic term, as some people think, but a Biblical term,
Yours in His great love, rljo u h V b r iq h b o A
2*
THE KING'S BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook HTML5