A Minute Meditation

A Persian General had a peculiar way of dealing with his soldiers who had been condemned to die before the firing squad. Just prior to their execution, he would call them in before him and give them a choice. He would ask the condemned to choose between facing the firing squad or going through the black door. On one occasion, the condemned man was one of his own officers who had been caught spying for the enemy. He summoned the man into his presence and asked him the question: “Do you want to go before the firing squad or pass through the black door?” The condemned man hesitated for a short time and then chose the firing squad.

A short time later, shots rang out in the courtyard of the prison signifying that the grim sentence had been carried out. One of his top aides observed the General’s reaction as he heard the shots. The General sighed and said, “they invariably choose the firing squad. It seems that men prefer the known to the unknown even when the known means death.” “What is beyond the black door, sir?” asked the aide of his commanding officer. “Freedom!” was the reply of the General. He went on to add, “Few men are brave enough to choose it, even though they know that the firing squad is certain death.”

Paul tells us that “the things which are seen are temporal while the things which are not seen are eternal.” Almost everyone chooses the things that they can see and their choice also ends in their death. It takes faith, it takes courage, to choose the things that are not seen — the things which are eternal.

Moses pleaded with the children of Israel to make the right choice. He said, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life.”

History is a grim reminder of the fact that by the millions, these chosen people of God chose death. They could taste the leeks and the garlic. They could see the gods of wood and stone that those around them worshiped. On the other hand, no man has ever seen God. They chose what they could see. They chose death and they died.

All around us are the gods of this world. The temporal pleasures of this world are not only on every side, they can even be piped right into our homes in stereo and living color. They look attractive. They take up our time. They can be seen, felt and experienced right now. Out of sight is the crown of righteousness which is laid up for us. We know it is real, we know it is sure, but it is at present unseen. Which do we choose? By our actions, by the way we live, by the thoughts that run through our mind as we go about our daily tasks, we are answering the question as to what we choose.

We do get that which we choose. The Persian soldier chose to face the firing squad and he perished in his choice. He could not see what was on the other side of the black door and he turned down the offer to go through it.

Only a few make the right choice. The fact that most choose what they can see and end up dead is no reason for us to make the same mistake. Let us choose the door. The kingdom is on the other side of the door and it is at present unseen. We have a choice to make. Life or death. Choose life. Remember Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.”

There is a story about a rich old man who lived in a small town and was well known to all its inhabitants. He had no living relatives and when he died, the townsfolk were surprised and astonished to learn that his funeral was scheduled to be held at 2 a.m.

Even though he was held in high esteem by all who knew him, his request to have his funeral take place in the wee hours of the morning caused most of them to decide to forego attending his service. A few did set their alarms and were present at the funeral. He had instructed his attorney to be sure that the names of all those in attendance were recorded. A few days later when his will was read, they were all surprised to learn that he had left his entire estate to those few who had been present at his funeral. He explained in his will that he believed that his true friends would put themselves out to attend, and so he wanted his money to be equally divided among those faithful few who thought enough of him to go to his 2 a.m. funeral. Those few people were all instant millionaires and those who had thought about going, but did not bother to get up in time to attend, were filled with remorse.

Do we love the Lord Jesus Christ enough to put ourselves out for him? It is not always convenient to put him first in our lives. Serving him means that we are constantly doing things and going places that we would not do or go, if it were not for the fact that we love him so much.

The reading of this man’s will put everyone in town into one of two groups — a very small group who were rewarded beyond their fondest expectations and a large group who then realized that they had been excluded because of their own refusal to make a personal sacrifice for their departed friend.

At the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, we will also be divided into two groups. One small group on the right and a large group on the left. What will be the difference between the two groups? The only picture we have given us of the judgment seat by our Savior depicts him explaining to each group why they have been placed either on the left or right. The group on the right really did put themselves out for him. The group on the left did not. Each group is surprised. “When saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

We need to remember that we are paying the highest price it is possible to pay, if we neglect serving others to please ourselves. We are paying for it with our eternal life that will be forfeited because we thought more of our own wants and desires than we did of the Lord’s.

If the people in town had known the contents of the will, they would have all been at the funeral. We have an advantage because we have been given a warning in advance of what we should be doing to prepare for the coming of the son of God. We do not know the day or the hour of his coming but we know he is coming. “Watch and pray…lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.”

There is never a traffic jam on the extra mile. Jesus plainly told us that “whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”

The fact that Jesus told us to do this does not mean that it is done. That extra mile must be the most deserted stretch of road in the world.

Most people try to do as little as possible — to do the very minimum, just trying to get by. Even in the business world, the person who goes the extra mile is so rare that they stand out and rise to the top like cream in the milk. One would think that in the Truth, the brethren and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ would all be looking for ways to show their love for his teachings by jamming that extra mile of the road to the kingdom by their kind and loving deeds to each other.

Unfortunately, there are some who are even less diligent in their service to their King than they are to the boss at work. Many will drag themselves to work when they feel poorly but the slightest ache or pain will keep them from the meeting. Some wander in late for God’s service when they would not think of being tardy in the work place. There are those who can be depended upon to carry out their work assignments faithfully but when asked to call on a contact or visit a sick sister they just never get around to it.

By our actions, we certainly tell God what we think is important. Often our actions announce, even to the brotherhood, just how we regard the teachings of our Master. By the things we do and don’t do, we are declaring our love or lack of it for the Lord.

In our ecclesia, we once had a brother who only came to the evening public lecture when he gave it. He never heard another speak because it was not important to him unless he was the speaker. He has since left the Truth altogether. What if each one only came when he had to perform? If God’s proclamation of the Truth is important, then it is important for us to be there to support His work. Some ask what can I do for the Lord? The answer is -­be there!

Do we somehow think that we are doing God a favor when we do our daily Bible readings? It really does not help Him for us to read His word. We are the one who benefits. When we pray, is this to let God know that we are paying our daily dues to Him? Prayer is God’s gracious gift to us, not our’s to Him.

We show our love for the Lord, we go the extra mile, when we put ourselves out for our brethren and sisters. In Paul’s day, there was also a shortage of brethren and sisters who did this. He said, “I have no one like him, (Timothy) who will be genuinely anxious for your welfare. They all look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”

Whose business do we care about? By our actions, we give the answer. If we do not like the answer we are giving, now is the time for us to decide to go that extra mile for the Lord. When we do it for our brethren and sisters, we do it for him, for he said, “Truly I say unto you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it for me.”

In Kansas City, there are acres and acres of railroad yards. In the late afternoon each day, there is a team of two men whose job is to inspect each box car. The first man goes in and checks to make sure everything is okay and then moves on to the next. The second man follows and slams shut the heavy door and places a padlock on it to make sure no one can get into it during the night.

Late one evening, as they were completing their rounds, they came to the section which the first man dreaded the most, inspecting the refrigerator cars. He disliked this part of his job because these cars are kept at 19 degrees Fahrenheit and he always got cold going in them. On this particular evening as he went into the last car, he noticed something suspicious in the far corner and went all the way back to inspect it. Suddenly, he heard the big door slam shut behind him and the padlock go click. He quickly ran back to the door and began to call out to his partner, “Open up, I’m still in here!”

Unfortunately, his partner was already out of earshot. He thought the car was empty so he headed back to the office to clock out for the night. The trapped man began to panic. He screamed and pounded on the door until he was weak and hoarse, but there was no one to hear or help him.

Filled with terror, he realized that he would not be found until the morning and he knew he could not survive the 19 degree temperature all night. Resigned to freezing to death, he began to write his feelings on the wall of the car. He wrote how cold he was, how stiff his fingers were; he finally wrote, “I know l am going to die.” His body was found the next morning crumpled on the floor beneath his scrawled notes. The thing he did not know was that the refrigeration unit on that particular car was broken and the temperature was not the 19 degrees he thought it was; actually, it was 60.

His belief that he was going to freeze to death caused him to freeze to death. He died by freezing because he believed that he would die by freezing.

We are told that in the days of Noah, “God saw that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually.” We all have strong imaginations and they can be used for good or ill. This man imagined he would die by freezing and his body responded and brought about that which he believed would happen.

We need to realize how important our thoughts are. Jesus carefully explained to us how we can commit adultery and murder just by thinking the wrong kind of thoughts. Our bodies react to our thoughts even if the thing we are thinking is not true. People scream, cry and laugh at a movie when all that is really happening is that a roll of film is being projected on a screen in front of them by a light bulb.

We have a choice. We can choose to think upon the things that are “true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report,” or we can think like the world and perish. Our body will react just as our mind imagines. Let us rise above the fleshly thinking of the world for “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (II Cor. 10:4-5)