Let Us Faithfully Serve God!

The story is told of a incarcerated man who once escaped from a state penitentiary. Twenty-four hours after his escape, his mother turned him in to the prison authorities.

What is truly sad about this story, is that the man only had twenty-three days left to serve when he fled from a work detail. A judge gave him an additional five years for his escape.

We might say, “What a fool that man was, risking five years for twenty-three days.”

Yes, he was indeed a fool. However, let us consider how many folks risk eternal life for that which is infinitely shorter. Many risk that glorious dwelling place called heaven for “the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

Some would rather “sleep in” on Sunday mornings than worship God as He has commanded (Acts 2:41-42; Acts 20:7; Hebrews 10:24-25).

Beloved, let us not trade eternal life for satisfying our own selfish desires. Let us faithfully serve God that we might escape eternal damnation (1 Corinthians 15:58).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets