“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
John 14:13-14
Sam was always old. We had known him for over 30 years and it seemed like he had always been hunched over and shuffling. We only saw him at Horse Shows a few times a year, and we were really fond of him.
One fall, after he turned 100 years old we went to see him. He still recognized us. We hugged him, stroked his hands, talked and prayed with him. He held my hand so tight when we were about to leave.
And to our amazement, he talked about the Lord. Yes, he talked about Jesus always being with him and that he was going to heaven. He asked us if we were still going to church. We could hardly believe the change in this crotchety old man.
We had planned to go see him again a week later, but were told that he had died. It didn’t seem real – we would never see him on earth again.
Sam lived alone. He was divorced; his only son had predeceased him. His grandchildren paid little attention to him, even though he paid their way through college.
Sam’s whole life revolved around his ponies. They were all he ever talked about.
We were concerned about his lack of relationship with the Lord, so on several occasions we drove to Oregon to encourage him to receive Christ as His Lord and Savior, but each time he rejected what we shared with him. He had read the Bible three times, he told us, but had decided his heaven was here on earth. We cried when we left him. It was so sad to think that he would not be in heaven with us. I often prayed, “Lord, don’t let him die before he becomes a Christian”. We mobilized many people to pray for him.
Ironically, the only people who cared for him, beside us, were another Christian couple. When Sam grew increasingly frail, they made the arrangements to move him into the Assisted Living Care Home for seniors, which was run by Baptists.
I learned that in God’s timing it is never too late to accept Jesus. One is never too old, too grouchy or too stubborn for God. After all, He is the God of all flesh, He is not willing that any should perish, and he loves all of his creatures with unfailing love. He drew Sam to himself when he was over 90 years old. We don’t know exactly when, but it was during his stay at the Baptist home. We were told that after he accepted Christ, he would even hum or try and sing the tunes of the hymns–a true sign of God’s spirit living in him.
Never give up on anyone. As long as they are alive, there is time for them to give their hearts to God.
Father, thank you for loving us enough to send someone to share the gospel with us. Thank you for saving Sam and multitudes of others who seem to be too far gone. You are the God of all flesh “nothing is impossible with you”. In fact, all things are possible. Give us the faith to keep believing and keep praying. Amen
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Short Thoughts for Cell Phones – God-daily.com
