When I was a kid growing up in a small town in Southeast Arkansas, a lot of the farmers in the area farmed rice. You may know that rice is raised in water, which means the land must be completely level. Many times, as the planting season approached, we would see large machines with a long blade out in the fields, scraping the ground to make sure it was level. This brings me to my point: there is a place in the world where the ground is completely level all the time. Where is this place you say? Well, it’s at the foot of the cross.
And aren’t we glad. This means when we are judged for our sins, we are all equal. Regardless of our status in society or what we have accomplished during our lifetime, we all stand before the final judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” or “Depart from me, ye who work iniquity, for I never knew you.”
The reason this is so important to me is that I spent more than half of my life thinking I was a Christian, but I was not. I was just a church member thinking I was a Christian, but I was really a phony. You can believe me, it does matter.
This special, heartfelt column is not about religion, it’s about a relationship. Unless you have been under a rock for the past 10 to 20 years you know that our country has really gone downhill in terms of character values, personal safety and shootings, and mass violence that takes place every single day. In my library I have a book titled “Be Skillful” by Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe. His book is a study of the book of Proverbs, which is one of the best books in the entire Bible. I read a small portion of it every single day. The reason I share this is because of a paragraph in the book that is really concise as to where we are as a nation.
He begins on page 146: “Thanks to worldwide media coverage and the constant pressure for higher program ratings, sin has become an important part of international entertainment. Evil activities that we ought to be weeping over are now sources of entertainment: they are vividly displayed on movie and TV screens and discussed in depth in newspapers and magazines. The all-seeing camera moves into the bedroom, the barroom and the courtroom and enables excited viewers to enjoy sin vicariously. Movies and TV are instructing generation after generation of children how to ridicule virginity, laugh at sobriety, challenge authority, and reject honesty. Actors, actresses and advertisers have convinced them that ‘having fun,’ ‘feeling good,’ and ‘getting away with it’ are now the main goals in life.”
Even though we have gone so far down the slippery slope, I am here today to tell you there is hope. How do I know this? Well, simply because of the account of the thief on the cross. When Jesus hung on the cross between two thieves, one of them said to him, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus responded, “This very day you will be with me in Paradise.” My friends, as I often say when I am introduced to make a talk, “I am just a sinner who has been saved by God’s amazing grace.” Whether I am right or wrong about my theology, I do care about you, and want you to know the truth, as it will set you free.