I saw some old friends a couple of weeks ago. Most of them I hadn't seen in a long time. The occasion was sad: the passing of Fred Daly. Fred, his brother Ronnie, and sisters Janice & Gwen all rode the school bus with me from first grade on. Harold Reynolds was there, as well; he rode bus #9 with us. Other than Janice, I hadn't seen any of them since high school. They were black and I was white, and there were other kids both black & white on our bus. The great thing was this: we were just kids and none of us cared about trivial differences like the color of someone else's skin. We all rode the bus together every day, we knew each other, and black or white we knew we were all just people. A wonderful lesson that I was lucky enough to learn alongside some really special people. I wish everyone had the blessing of riding bus #9 with us. It was a gift from God that no amount of money can buy. At the time I was just a kid and I really didn't think about how much this experience would mean to me in later years. But God had a plan even then and was working in the lives of everyone on that bus by teaching us what really matters.
How often is God working in our lives yet we are unaware of it? The answer is simple: always. Think about all the experiences you had ten or twenty years ago that you didn't think much about at the time, yet now you see their true value. Even the bad things in life can have purpose and meaning later in life. When Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers (Genesis 37), I'm guessing he wasn't thinking "wow this is great because I know it's part of God's plan". I'm sure he felt betrayed and was terrified of life as a slave. Years later, though, when he was the ruler of Egypt and his brothers came begging for food because of famine, he didn't condemn them. He saw the events leading up to that point and realized they were all part of God's plan. "And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God." (Genesis 45:5-8 ESV)
God has a plan. He has always had a plan. From the beginning Christ was part of this plan. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:1-5 ESV) He knew we might choose evil and had a plan for our redemption even before sin entered the world. He offers us a priceless gift bought with the blood of his son, yet so many refuse to accept what he offers freely because they don't like the terms and conditions. When the gift is eternal life, it seems to me that the terms and conditions are a small price for us to pay, especially since accepting them will make our time on earth better & easier in the long run. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26 ESV)
If you're here tonight and you're not a Christian, God has a plan for you. He doesn't force you to follow his plan; it has to be your choice. The gift is priceless: eternal life. The terms and conditions will make your life so much better & easier; as Jesus said, "my yoke is easy and my burden is light". All you have to do is come forward, repent of your sins, confess your faith, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. There's no better time than now. If you are a Christian and you are struggling with some burden, there are people here who can help you. You don't have to carry your burdens alone. Come forward and let us help you as we stand and sing.
