“For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 23:18)
I saw that verse played out in the life of a ten-year-old little boy that goes to my church. It was one of the sweetest moments that Jesus has brought my way since I decided to follow Christ.
My church has an alternative to Halloween that we offer. Actually, it really has nothing to do with Halloween. It’s a drama called Fate’s Place which points out that the decisions we make every day can send us to Hell.
Fate’s Place is a tour that chronicles the lives of a several people who made both wrong and right decisions in their lives. These are everyday people, just like you and me, and the decisions they make are everyday decisions that all of us make, although we don’t often associate the eternal consequences that come from them.
Those who attend the drama are led by a tour guide through various scenes that recount decisions the characters have made, decisions that ultimately determines their fate at the end of their lives. Tourists are allowed to peek in on seemingly unimportant moments. In the end, several of the characters are taken to both the Great White Throne and Judgment Seat of Christ where their eternal destination is learned. The message: Every decision has eternal consequences as tomorrow is not promised.
The final stop, however, is with me. I thank them for coming, remind them of the message that has been portrayed, and ask them if they know the Lord. On Halloween night, seven people gave their hearts to the Lord.
One young man, however, returned after everyone had left and I was readying the area for the next group, due in about twenty minutes. “Sir,” he said. “What do you do if you think you have lost your faith?”
“Lost you faith,” I asked. “What do you mean when you say you’ve lost your faith,” I repeated as I reached out to invite him to come in and sit down. He explained that he had lost his grandmother several days before and told me she was buried just a few hours earlier.
Oh, how I felt for him. I asked him name, which he told me was Adam. I asked Adam if he knew the Lord, if he had said the sinner’s prayer that I led the group through just a few minutes earlier. “Yes sir,” he said. I’ve said it before, but I never meant until tonight.”
“Well, you know what Adam” I asked. The Bible says if you confess the Lord Jesus with your lips and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you are saved. I also mentioned to him that one of God’s promises in the Bible is that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
“But there’s an even more important promise for you,” I said to him. “Do you believe your grandmother is in heaven?” “Oh yes,” he answered. “Well then, that means you’ll get to see her again.”
I then explained to him that as much as he missed his grandmother, and would continue to miss her as the years rolled by, he could tuck the memory of her in his heart and hold on the promise that he would see her again. “It’s called hope, Adam,” I explained. “It’s one of the gifts that God gives to saved people, like you, who face trials in life, like losing your grandmother.”
I kept my eye on Adam the rest of the night. He was there that night with another child whose mom and dad were involved in the drama. I saw a different child than the one who first confronted me with a powerful question: “What do you do when you think you’ve lost your faith?”
I didn’t see happiness in Adam’s eyes that night, but I did see joy. God showed me just how powerful the difference is. I suppose that’s why the Word of God says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28)
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