“For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 23:18)
I saw that verse played out in the life of a ten-year-old little boy helping out at a church I once attended. It was one of the sweetest moments that Jesus has brought my way since I decided to follow him.
Many churches offer alternatives to Halloween. The alternative my church chose was a drama called Fate’s Place, which points out how the decisions we make every day can send us to hell.
Fate’s Place is a tour that chronicles the lives of a several people who made both wrong and right decisions in their lives. These are everyday people, just like you and me, and the decisions they make are everyday decisions that all of us make, although we don’t often associate the eternal consequences that come from them.
Those who attend the drama are led by a tour guide through various scenes that recount decisions the characters have made, decisions that ultimately determine their fate at the end of their lives. Tourists are allowed to peek in on seemingly unimportant moments. In the end, several of the characters are taken to both the Great White Throne and Judgment Seat of Christ where their eternal destinations are learned. The message: Every decision has eternal consequences as tomorrow is not promised.
The final stop was with me. I thanked them for coming, reminded them of the message that had been portrayed, and asked them if they knew the Lord. On Halloween night that year, seven people gave their hearts to the Lord.
One of the children, however, returned after everyone had left. I was readying the area for the next group, due in about twenty minutes. “Sir,” he said. “What do you do if you think you have lost your faith?”
“Lost your faith?” I asked. “What do you mean when you say you’ve lost your faith,” I repeated as I reached out to invite him to come in and sit down. He explained that he had lost his grandmother several days before and told me she was buried just a few hours earlier.
Oh, how I felt for him. I asked him his name, which he told me was Adam. I then asked Adam if he knew the Lord, if he had said the sinner’s prayer that I led the group through just a few minutes earlier. “Yes sir,” he said. I’ve said it before, but I never meant until tonight.”
I explained to Adam that the Bible says if you confess the Lord Jesus with your lips and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you are saved. “If you really meant that prayer, Adam, then you haven’t lost your faith. You’ve found it.”
“But there’s an even more important promise for you,” I said to him. “Do you believe your grandmother is in heaven?” “Oh yes,” he answered. I then assured him, “Well then, that means you’ll get to see her again.”
I also explained to Adam that as much as he missed his grandmother and would continue to miss her as the years rolled by, he could tuck the memory of her in his heart and hold on the promise that he would see her again. “It’s called hope, Adam. It’s one of the gifts that God gives to saved people, like you, who face trials in life, like losing your grandmother.”
I didn’t see happiness in Adam’s eyes that night, but I did see joy. God showed me just how powerful the difference is. I suppose that’s why the Word of God says, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28)
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