Hi folks,
I was aksed to speak at a firemen's convention last week. I allowed time for questions and this one was posed to me by the fire chief who also happens to be a good friend of mine. I must say, he likes to pose some tough ones. What he said was this:
"Suppose there is a building on fire. You know there are two people trapped inside and you can only reach one of them. You can't see through the smoke and it will be just a matter of minutes before the building collapses. Of these two people, one is a well-known criminal who everyone wants to see brought to justice. The other one is a well-known evangelist who rightly divides the Word of Truth. Thousands have been saved under his ministry. Whom would you go to first?"
I had to really think about that. The question made several others think, as well. On one hand, the evangelist is a godly man. If he dies, his soul will immediately go to heaven. The well-known criminal will have yet another chance to change his ways. On the other hand, the evangelist may be able to win more souls if he lives. The well-known criminal will be getting the justice everyone has been looking for him to get. After all suggestions and comments had been exhausted, the fire chief stood up with something in his hand.
With a smile on his face he said, "The answer is, neither one is considered more important than the other." He held up the object. "This is a pair of Night Vision Goggles. When a fireman goes into a fire, with these on, he can't see whom he is rescuing. He only sees a body. He rescues the first body he comes to."
When he sat back down, the silence was so thick it could be cut with a knife. If ever I had a chance to share from my heart, this was it. "Folks, God looks at us in the same way a fireman looks through the Night Vision Goggles. According to I Samuel 16:7, man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. He sees a hurting soul and is quick to act. Maybe not in the way and timing we would, but remember. His ways and His timing are not ours. I've had to see this from experience. He can be trusted to know what He's doing."
I'm sure a lot of us left that night with a determination not to be as judgmental as before, including me.
God bless,
Johnny
