I Believe I Will
John 3:17-18
“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
I remember, as a boy, visiting the home of an elderly couple in Wisconsin as we traveled on our way to Minnesota. The man, in his eighties and near death’s door, was confined to his chair. We sat in the living room—my father, mother, three brothers, and I. Although the man’s children supported my missionary parents, he was not a Christian. I can still hear my father as he shared the plan of salvation with him and then asked, “Would you like to receive Christ as your own Savior? Would you like to ask Him into your life?” The man said, “I don’t believe I will.”
Something pressed upon my father to risk offense, because he simply rewound his conversation and started over. He pulled his chair right up to the recliner where the old man was sitting wrapped in a comforter. I remember the urgency in my dad’s voice. Here was a man who had lived a respectable life, raised decent children, attended church, and accomplished many good things. Here was my father telling him that he was not good enough in himself! After explaining the gospel yet another time, Dad put the question to him again: “Would you now place your faith in Christ and simply receive Him as your personal Savior?” I held my breath. It was then that the man replied, “I believe I will.”
Now there were tears running down my cheeks. None of us knew it at the time, but within a few months the man would die. Death comes to all. It’s a reality of the planet we inhabit. This is the reason Jesus Christ came into the world—that it might be saved. How about you? Will you receive His saving forgiveness? There should be only one answer . . . “I believe I will.”