Rescue Shops or Daisy Chains?

Pastor Tim preached yesterday about the lost, about damnation, and about the destiny of those who go into eternity without Jesus Christ. And he spoke about the danger of apathy in the face of this terrible situation. People, dying every day without embracing the gospel. Their fate? There's no getting around it... their future is, quite literally, hell. Total darkness, complete aloneness, and eternal separation from God.

During the sermon two figures from the past came to mind. Amy Carmichael and C.T. Studd. Both of these saints were immersed in the work of saving the lost. Both were also keenly aware of a certain lack of vision and failure of compassion on the part of the larger church.

C.T. Studd gave up a large inheritance on which he might have lived quite comfortably in England, and worked tirelessly among the lost in various parts of the world. He made other sacrifices that most mission boards today would consider far too extreme.

C.T. Studd wrote:

Some want to live
within the sound
of church or chapel bell;
I want to run
a rescue shop
within a yard of hell.

Amy Carmichael , who worked in India, relates a frightening vision she once had. In her dream all kinds of people were blindly walking toward a terrible precipice leading to a great bottomless gulf. There were a few sentinels at wide intervals desperately trying to stop the thronging masses headed toward the abyss. However, there were not nearly enough guards to keep the thousands from perishing as they steadily, and blindly moved toward the chasm.

In her vision there was also a group of folks, sitting rather peacefully within the sound of the shrill cries of those falling over the cliff. They were quietly making daisy chains together. Periodically they would become upset by the rather unpleasant shrieks they were hearing, but they went on making daisy chains. Read the vision of Amy Carmichael as she tells it here.

Brothers and sisters, by the grace of God, we must examine our hearts and trust the Spirit of God to show us whatever He will concerning our view of reality.