Are You In My Boat?

Once a youngster attended a Billy Graham Crusade and made a decision to follow Christ. He had never been inside a church. So that Sunday, with curiosity mixed with some anxiety and trepidation, he showed up in a community church unsure of what he might find.

Pastor Ray Stedman, stepped to the pulpit and read the chosen text from the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 6 : 9 – 11. “Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or are greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people – none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that.” (NLT)

Then with an amused look, he declared, “I am curious: How many of you have one or more of the sins I mentioned in your history? If you do, please stand.” When the youngster heard the Pastor’s question, with unease he looked around to see if anyone would get to their feet. For a start, no one did. But in just a while, almost the entire congregation rose to their feet. So, he encouraged himself saying, “These folk are in my boat!”

We can all find ourselves in the apostle Paul’s list of despicable people. But when we confess our sins and accept God’s forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for us, we become a brand new creation. And this enables us to receive the gift of eternal life.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5 :17)