I was told recently about a gentleman in this area who won’t come to church because the vicar hasn’t visited him yet, which left me wondering about this man’s life.

 

Did he, for instance, wait until the headmaster had visited him before he sent his children to school? Did he wait for the bank manager to visit him before he opened a bank account? Would he, if he were in need of an operation, wait for the surgeon to visit him before he went into hospital? If he was planning a cruise holiday, would he insist that the captain of the ship visit him at home before he boarded the ship?

 

Of course not. So why, when something far more important than a bank account or a holiday is involved, when in fact what is at stake is salvation and the hope of future life, would he risk losing everything by waiting for a visit at home, when all he has to do is walk down the road on a Sunday morning?

 

All the important things in life require us to make some effort. No-one makes a lot of money at their job without working hard; no-one has a decent family life without putting some effort and time into it; no-one stays healthy without taking some exercise. All these things require us to do something, not just sit back and wait for it to be done for us.

 

Two thousand years ago Jesus came to earth to offer us the most priceless gift we could have – the promise of life after death with God in Heaven. All we had to do was go to him and claim the prize. He didn’t do many house visits – instead people came out in their thousands and walked many miles to hear what he had to say. Their lives, and the course of history, were changed by what they heard. The people who stayed at home missed it.

 

Today in the parts of the world where the church is growing fast – Africa and China for instance – people still travel many miles to hear the preacher. In this country we have a church in nearly every parish, and many able-bodied people find half a mile too far to go.

 

Jesus is willing to take you with him on the most fantastic and mesmerising journey you could possibly imagine, to a destination so perfect and so wonderful that you can hardly visualise it. It is a freely given prize, and all you have to do to claim it is to take a few steps towards him.

 

But no-one knows the hour or the day when their ship is due to sail. If you wait for the captain to visit you at home before you do anything, the ship is likely to sail without you.