Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room
Let every heart prepare Him room
It was a day our whole class had anticipated for a year. We were in grade 5. It was our time. We were old enough to get our Bibles. In our school, every year the Gideons (now called ShareWord Global) came to the grade 5s and handed out New Testaments. I remember being in grade 4 hearing when the grade 5s received their Bibles, anticipating when we would be old enough to have this special privilege.
Finally, it was our day. I remember the two suit-wearing gentlemen, standing at the front of our class. One gentleman held up the New Testament and said, “There’s a section in the back. Don’t take it lightly.”
That section was a selection of scriptures that included:
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life
And after these and other scriptures, there was an invitation to receive Christ as Saviour.
I, however, would not look at those back pages because I was convicted of my sin! I was only 10 years old yet I knew that I was separated from God because of my sin. I attended church with my family, yet I had not repented of my sins and accepted Him into my heart.
I did determine, however, to read my bible every night before I went to sleep. After two months of reading the scriptures every night, I thought I had earned enough favour with God that it was OK to look at these back pages that I had been avoiding. But when I did read the scriptures, they didn’t make sense to me.
I asked my brother David, who was home from university, if he knew what these scriptures meant. Indeed, he did! Unbeknownst to me, he had given his heart to Jesus the year previously and had been praying for me and asking the Lord for an opportunity to share the gospel with me.
David explained the scriptures using The Bridge illustration. God was on one cliff, I was on another and there was a gap between us – my sin. Jesus was the bridge that bridged the gap for me to be connected to God, my sin to be forgiven and me to inherit eternal life. It all became clear.
I asked Jesus into my heart and instantly I knew His love and forgiveness. The load of guilt was removed, and I knew I was going to heaven.
What a day! That was 51 years ago tomorrow--December 12th, 1974!
Let every heart prepare Him room!
Father, it’s our prayer that this Christmas, many would come to you and invite You into their hearts. We pray for many to prepare You room.