Checking Out, and the Beatles

I saw an advertisement recently where cameras were set up to watch a supermarket shopper’s reaction to a scenario. Just as he was about to go through the checkout, a man who had a single item, asked if he could step in front of him. Of course, the shopper kindly let him go first. Suddenly balloons dropped from the roof and music began to play-- because the man he let through won $50,000 for being the one-millionth-shopper. The camera then zoomed in on the shopper’s look of unbelief.

Of course this was just a setup and it was fascinating to watch his response. The intrigue probably comes because of our ability to identify with someone being that close to winning $50,000, and missing out.

Pete Best was the member of the Beatles who was dropped just before the music group exploded across the world, making the other members millionaires overnight. They were stacking platinum albums as he stacked loaves of bread in a delivery van in a factory. He was close, but he missed out.

Many are like that when it comes to getting to Heaven. They believe in God, perhaps go to church, own a few Bibles, but they’ve never been born again (see John chapter 3). They are close, but they are in danger of missing out—not on mere money, but on eternal life. Horrible that may be, it’s not the real tragedy. If they die in their sins, they will not only miss the eternal pleasures of Heaven, they will find themselves damned in a terrible place called “Hell.”

God forbid that we should be complacent about the salvation of those around us. Today, preach the gospel using words, or witness one-to-one, hand someone a gospel tract, or at least leave one somewhere for someone to find. If you can’t do any of these things, please pray for those who can.

Pic. Urbankayaker