Charles was very patient with me as I would speak to him for
hours about Jesus Christ and how He had saved me. Charles was not raised in a
home that attended any kind of church, so all that I had to tell him was a
fascination to him.
He even began to ask questions about forgiveness of sin.
Finally, the day came that I put a question to him. I asked if he realized his
own need of a redeemer and if he was ready to trust Christ as his own Savior. I
saw his countenance fall and the guilt in his face. But his reply was a strong
"no” In the days that followed he was quiet and often I felt that he was
avoiding me, until I got a phone call and it was Charles.
He wanted to know where to look in the New Testament for
some verses that I had given him about salvation. I gave him the reference to
several messages and asked if I could meet with him. He declined my offer and
thanked me for the Scripture. I could tell that he was greatly troubled, but I
did not know where he was or how to help him.
Because he was training for the Olympic games, Charles had
special privileges at the University pool facilities. Some time between 10:30
and 11:00 that evening he decided to go swim and practice a few dives. It was a
clear night in October and the moon was big and bright. The University pool was housed under a ceiling of glass panes so
the moon shone bright across the top of the wall in the pool area. Charles
climbed to the highest platform to take his first dive. At that moment the
Spirit of God began to convict him of his sins. All the Scripture he had read,
all the occasions of witnessing to him about. All the Scripture he had read,
all the occasions of witnessing to him about Christ flooded his mind. He stood on the platform backwards to make
his dive, spread his arms to gather his
balance, looked up to the wall and saw his own shadow caused by the light of
the moon. It was the shape of a
cross. He could bear the burden of his
sin no longer. His heart broke and he
sat down on the platform and asked God to forgive him and save him. He trusted Jesus Christ twenty some feet in
the air.
Suddenly, the lights in the pool area came on. The attendant had come in to check the
pool. As Charles looked down from his
platform he saw an empty pool which had been drained for repairs. He had almost plummeted to his death, but the
cross had stopped him from disaster.
1 cor 1:18 : "For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God"
No comments:
Post a Comment