We don’t know when God will allow us to take our last breath. And for all you know, you may not wake up tomorrow morning. Christ could come back in 5 minutes! Now that would be an awesome thing if you know that you will spend forever in heaven, but it is a devastating thought if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, and besides heaven, hell is the only option left. Either you are saved or you aren’t. There is no in between, and it doesn’t matter if you were a “good person”.
Romans 3:10 says “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”, and Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”. Now, you may say that you have never sinned. Lying is sin, and I am sure you can remember a time when you have lied. Or maybe you have committed a so-called bigger sin. You may not have murdered someone, but Proverbs 23:7a says “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...”. Have you thought about it or about any sin? Yes, you have. Romans 5:12 tells us where sin came from. It says “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned;”. This is talking about when Adam sinned back in Genesis by disobeying God when he ate the forbidden fruit.
Now, there is some bad news and some good news. Romans 6:23a tells us the bad news and it says “For the wages of sin is death;...”, and this means that our payment that we earn when we sin is death (hell). But, the good news is that the last part of that verse says (Romans 6:23b) “...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”. Isn’t that awesome? Christ will give us eternal life in heaven! You may think, why and how would he give us this awesome gift.
Romans 5:8 says “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He gave us this gift because he loved us so much, even while we were sinners, and he was able to do that because he died for us. But like all gifts, it isn’t enough for someone to want to give you something. You must take it, and claim it. And anyone can accept it, no matter what your past contains. Romans 10:13 says “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Notice the word “whosoever”. It means anyone! Romans 10:9-10 tells us exactly what we must do to accept this gift. It says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God that hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” 1 John 5:11-12 also talks about salvation. It says “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”.
God is very loving, but do not be fooled. God is serious. If you do not accept salvation, you will be condemmed to hell forever. John 3:36 says “He that believeth on the Son hath life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”.
You might say, ‘Well, who is Jesus that He can do or offer such a thing as eternal life?’ I love to teach this truth! Jesus is the creator of all things! You are probably thinking that there’s no way that that could be true ... I used to think the same way. However, the Bible is VERY clear that Jesus is the creator. Study the first chapter of John. The verse that I like to show is Colossians 1:16 ... it says, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him”. The God who created all things died for us ... to pay the penalty of all our sin. Past sins, present sins, and future sins ... you’ll not be in heaven some day if you’ll not believe that He died for you and ask him to save you. Please do so today!
9 comments:
Mitch,
I LOVE this piece. Brilliant in concept and execution.
I need a print of this for my home!
Doug,
Thanks! You are very gracious!
Mitch-I saw your piece tonight at the First Baptist art show patron party. I was looking at another piece of art and happened to turn around and saw this...I was blown away. It is absolute stunning. You are gifted and I'm glad to see you creating and using your talents. All the best Mitch.
I attended the Patron's night of the FBC Nashville's art festival - the Return of the Prodigal. I saw this painting IRL and was totally impressed. I cannot understand why this piece was not selected.
I saw this painting IRL at the FBC Nashville art festival. All I can say is that you should've won.
I stumbled upon this site googling my name - also Mitch Mann. I am a New Testament adjunct professor and I give sermons upon request. One sermon I have given and a topic which I teach many times is the Prodigal story. I like to point out the section reading (depending upon the Bible English translation) "and while he was still a long way off his father saw him coming back home". I make the point to my students/congregation, that for the father to notice the son coming from a long way off implies the father was LOOKING for him. Perhaps every day.
I feel you have beautifully captured this concept often "hidden" beneath the surface of the story in this painting. And I agree with your application - our Father in Heaven is likewise looking for many of us to return. Perhaps every day.
Thanks, Mitch. He WANTS us to experience His grace and mercy even though He knows we may reject it all. This gives us another glimpse of His heart.
Mitch! This is absolutely thought provoking, Keep up the Good Work brother!
Hilton Jackson from South Africa
Excellent, thought provoking painting Mith
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