Turpentine and God

I almost drank an 8 ounce glass of turpentine.  I was 17, maybe 18 years old. One of my friend’s parents were gone for the weekend. A perfect time for a party. It didn’t take me long to get stumbling-drunk on whatever was passing around the group of guys and gals.

I still remember wandering into the kitchen. And there it was – a glass of clear liquid sitting on the counter. All by itself. Inviting me to get even more drunk.

I decided to down it in one quick gulp. But something stopped me, made me hesitate. In my drunkenness, I decided to leave the glass alone.

When I turned and walked out of the kitchen area, I bumped into the guy whose house it was. I slurred something like, “Someone left a glass of Vodka on the counter in there.”

“That’s not Vodka,” He casually shrugged. “That’s turpentine.”

When I now remember that evening of more than 50 years ago, a Proverb comes into my mind: "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 16:25). 

Everyone reading this knows our life – YOUR life – can end in a moment. How are you living it?  For whom are you living it? Do you know if you are walking the right path toward your eternal destiny?

Out of His heart of compassion Jesus urges us: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matthew 7:13-14).

Later in the gospels, Jesus adds that He is the narrow gate. He is the narrow way – indeed, the only way – that leads to eternal life. God stopped me that evening 50 years ago from doing something I thought was a good idea, but would have instead devastated my life. Why? Because God loved me then, as He loves me now.

And I would not be surprised if God has brought you today to this blog post to urge you, “Stop doing what seems right in your own eyes, but in the end is eternal death.” 

Why? Because He loves you now, as He has always loved you.