 |
|
An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
|
A Friend of the King During the reign of Queen Victoria, a London doctor visited a 72-year-old lady named Maria Vincent. Her husband had abandoned her some years earlier. She was poor and lived in very humble surroundings. She was undernourished and had neither warm clothes or wood for a fire. The doctor couldn’t believe her friends would allow her to live like that. When asked about it, Maria said she had no friends. Later in the discussion she corrected herself. She admitted that there might be one, but was sure that she had forgotten about her. The doctor pressed her for the identity of the friend. And finally Maria told him that it was the Queen herself. She said that the two of them had been childhood friends. The doctor left, not sure that he believed Maria, but when he got home he wrote the Queen a letter relating the incident. A few days later he received a letter from the Queen. The story was true. The Queen had not forgotten. Enclosed in the letter was enough money to provide for all of Maria’s needs. For the remaining years of her life, Maria Vincent lived comfortably as a friend of the Queen. Because of sin, YOU and I find our spiritual condition much like that of Maria’s: poor, abandoned, and in dire need. We too may wonder if we have been forgotten by our friends..... Yet,
there is Someone who has not forgotten us, neither has
He been unconcerned.
He is the King, the Creator of heaven and
earth. God,
because of His great love for us, sent His Son Jesus
to die on the cross for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21).
His death provided payment sufficient enough to
provide for all of our spiritual needs.
This was done BEFORE we even asked for help!
“But God
demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). However,
we must accept this Gift on His terms before we can
receive the benefits of His atoning death.
To accept His gift of salvation, we
place our faith
in
Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), repent
of our sins (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confess
Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized
(immersed) in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of
sins (Acts 2:38).
To continue to enjoy the benefits of this gift,
we must continue to walk in the light of His Word
(1 John 1:7). This is conditioned NOT upon our SINLESSNESS,
but upon our FAITHFULNESS to His Word, to the
best of our ability. Our
condition in sin is desperate, yet the Good News is
that the King is our Friend and desires to provide for
our need.
David A. Sargent,
Minister To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
HTML version: subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchzip.com Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org
|