The Visit with the Ward Patient
The Visit with the Ward Patient
A Christian visited a hospital and paused at each bed to say a word of prayer and give out a gospel or devotional tract. At the close of the visiting hour he came to the last bed in the ward and spoke to the patient very briefly: "Dear man, when you come to the end of this life, will you go to heaven?"
In a tone of defiance the man replied, "Oh, I think I shall get to heaven all right."
"What do you think they do in heaven?" asked the visitor. Taken aback, the man hesitated, then said, "Well, I hadn't thought about it, but I imagine they sing a great deal."
"That is right," the visitor said, "and we have the words of the song in the Bible." He opened the New Testament to the book of Revelation and read:
and they sang a new song, saying,
"Worthy art thou to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for thou wast slain and by thy blood
didst ransom men for God
from every tribe and tongue and
people and nation,
and hast made them a kingdom and
priests to our God,
and they shall reign on earth" (5:9, 10 RSV).
The visitor said, "I must go now, but I leave this New Testament with you, and ask you to consider this question: If you were taken to heaven tonight, could you sing heaven's song?"
Next day the Christian returned and went straight to the bed of this man, who greeted him with the words, "I read those verses fifty times, and I shall never talk about my good works again. In heaven they sing praises to Christ for redeeming them by His blood. I have been trying to get to heaven without a Saviour; but now I know heaven's song, and I have trusted in His blood so that I can sing that song now!"
How many people are like this man! They rush through life without a thought of what will certainly follow, hoping against hope that somehow they will reach heaven. They advance reasons for being received on the basis of their good works, fulfillment of religious rites or ceremonies, or their superiority of character over others. But none of these can avail. The refrain of heaven's song is, "Thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God." If you do not learn to sing that song on earth, you will never sing it in heaven.
1. Sometimes Christians even rush through life without thinking about how their actions will affect their relationship to Christ. How does one prevent themselves from rushing through life?
2. What are the consequences if we trust in our own works?
3. Christ’s work is sufficient to cover our sinfulness. To what extent does his blood and ransom cover us? Does it cover everything?
