Suppose you forgot or were excited and you started to run out into a city street full of busy traffic: Would your mom or dad try to stop you?
Yes, because they love you with all their hearts.
Suppose someone whom the Lord loves (and that’s everybody!) gets going on the road that leads to being lost at last; do you think the Lord would try to stop him?
Yes! If we get into the wrong way, don’t you think He would try His best to save us from going on and being lost at last?
Yes!
We learned in another story how the Lord loved poor Saul of Tarsus when he was on the wrong road, and hindered him. It’s not that He actually stops someone from going on down the wrong road; He gives freedom of choice to all of us. Anyone who is totally determined to be lost can resist the Lord’s love to the bitter end. Judas Iscariot did that, and we don’t want to, do we?
Sometimes I like to tell children about how great is God’s love for them, by playing a little game.
When a boy is willing to play the game (let’s call him Bill), I face him and ask him:
“Bill, do you see that door behind me (or if there isn’t one, we pretend that there is one)?” He says, “Yes.”
“All right, let’s pretend that that door is the door that goes to hell.”
Bill nods.
“Then, Bill, do you see that door on the opposite side of the building, that door that is behind you (if there isn’t any there we pretend there is one)?” He says, “Yes.”
“Okay, that’s the door that goes to heaven—that’s the door behind you.”
“Yes,” he says.
Then I say, “Bill I know you don’t want to go to hell, but just because we’re playing the game, I want you to try to go to that door that goes to hell, the one behind me.”
Bill grins, and stands a moment, not knowing what to do.
Then I say, “Come on, Bill; we’re playing a game. Try to go!”
So Bill lunges forward, but as quickly, I block him. Then he lunges to the other side, and I quickly sidestep and block him again. I try to block him every which way he tries to go in that direction.
Finally, I grab him (this illustrates what Jesus did to Saul of Tarsus), whirl him around and give him a shove toward heaven.
Everybody laughs.
“Well,” I say, “this helps us understand how actively the Holy Spirit works to put every hindrance in the way of someone who doesn’t understand and goes the wrong way. The bottom line is: God loves us more than we ever thought He does!
One time I was invited to give a Week of Prayer in school. The floor was waxed and polished. The boy had rubber soles on his shoes. I had on ordinary leather-soled shoes. And that kid pushed me on my feet all the way to “hell.”
Everybody laughed and the kids were delighted to see me defeated in my little illustration.
But I said, “The Lord let it work out this way. If someone is downright determined to be lost, he can be lost; he can overcome all the hindrances the Holy Spirit puts in His way. But we don’t want to do that, do we?”
One time when God’s people were fighting against Him, He said, “Oh Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself!” (Hosea 1 3:9, KJV). God has made it very hard for people to commit suicide, even when they’re discouraged; and He has made it hard for people to destroy themselves spiritually, too. Jesus says, “My yoke is easy” (Matthew 11:30).
Somehow most children and youth have picked up somewhere the idea that it’s hard to be saved. The idea seems to be that God is trying to do what high school students sometimes think their teacher is doing—flunk them if he can.
The idea behind such thinking is not true about our heavenly father!
Think a moment: if that idea were true, wouldn’t that mean that He is a Meanie? Here He tells the world that He loves us all, then He turns around and makes it as hard as possible for us to be saved!
This is exactly the lie that Satan wants us to believe. Jesus makes things clear: “The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!” (John 16:33).
You have a job to do, so make up your mind to do it: believe that God’s character is love; He is fair; He loves you. And let Him hold you by your hand (Isaiah 41:13) and lead you all the way into heaven.