[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Monday, June 10, 2013

[Paul]

Hello and a good Monday afternoon, at least here in eastern North America.  As I write this, it's raining fairly heavily in the Baltimore-Washington metro area with flash flood warnings up till sometime late this evening.  However, praise God, we're not flooded yet, at least not that I could tell in our basement.

The story for today has no author, and the only source I could find for it was the American Tract Society.  Its title is "After Graduation, What?", and is rendered as follows:

He was a splendid young fellow, 18 years old, a freshman at the university, of athletic build, keen-eyed, and with as bright a mind as even his parents could wish for him.  His father, a devout Christian, was my law partner, standing high in his profession; his mother, one of God's saints.

One day he came into the office looking for his father, to had gone out for a short while to keep an engagement.  He shook hands with me in his friendly way, and I asked him to have a seat and tell me about himself.

"How do you like the university, Harold?" I asked him.

"Oh, fine," he said, "I'm crazy about it."

"You are a very fortunate boy," I said, "with the parents you have and the opportunity to get a well-rounded education."

"Yes, sir," he replied, "I know it, and I hope I am appreciating it fully."

His father had one day, in a burst of confidence, told me that he and the boy's mother were very proud of Harold, but they were deeply concerned about his spiritual life.  He had seemed to lose interest in church and Sunday school, but talked a good deal about a new philosophy of life that he had discovered at the university.  Recalling this, as the boy sat there in front of me, I wondered if I could say anything to help him, but hesitated to speak, knowing that young people do not like their elders to "preach" to them.

But I felt a strong urge to try, so I said, "Harold, what are you planning to do when you graduate?"

Promptly, he answered, "I'm going to law school."

"Fine," I said, "and what then?"

"Oh, well, of course, I'm planning to practice law.  I hope one day to be a law partner with you and my father."

"Fine again," I said, "and what then?"

"Well, sir, I'm determined to make a success of it, so I can succeed in the business when you and Dad decide to retire."

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Oh, yes," he said with a slight twinkle in his eye, "I'll marry.  I think I have the girl already picked out."

"That sounds good," I said, "What then?"

"Well, I hope to make the practice of law pay me well, so that I can accumulate a sufficient sum to build me a comfortable home and give my children just the best kind of an education; also lay up something for old age."

"And then what?" I asked.

"Well....," he said, and he did not seem so cocksure now.  "I suppose like you and Dad, when I get old, I will retire."

I waited a moment as he sat there in silence; then I said very quietly, "What then?"

He twisted a little uncomfortably in his chair and looked out the window, but I don't think he saw anything out there.  After a moment's pause, he said with a forced smile, "I'll die."

I waited a little longer this time as we sat there in silence.  Then I said very softly, and with all the tenderness I could show in my face, "And what then?"

After a moment, he jumped up, grasped my hand, and said, "Thank you, sir, I know what you mean.  I'll think it over."  Then, saying he would wait no longer for his father to return, he picked up his hat and quietly went out.

Happily, the next morning, I learned that Harold had settled this most important question of all by receiving Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

But how about you? As I asked Harold, let me ask you:  "After graduation, what then?"

Here is what the Bible, God's Word, has to say about the answer to that question:

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

"As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12).

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:  and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36).

Let me ask you again:  "After graduation, a career? A family? Success? Retirement? Death? And what then?

And there you have it for today.  Again, yet another article to share with your unsaved friends, family, neighbors and/or loved ones.

And now until tomorrow when, Lord willing another daily thought message will be presented, may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last evil days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul