Will You Be a Survivor?

Christin Ditchfield

More than 6,000 people tried out. Sixteen contestants were chosen to spend 39 days on a tropical island. There they competed in teams and as individuals in a series of jungle survival games--swimming relays, building fires, and eating rats. Each week the competitors stood before a "tribal council." One by one, their peers voted them off of the island and out of the game.

Over 50 million people tuned in to the televised contest to watch the "moment of truth," to see who would "survive" the game and win the grand prize of $1 million.

One day we will all face our own "moment of truth." But that moment won’t be featured in a weekly television show. A million dollar prize is not what’s at stake. It’s a question of where we will spend eternity--in heaven or in hell. It’s not a tribal council that will decide our fate. We will stand before our Creator, the Almighty God. The Bible tells us, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

Neither our friends nor our enemies will have any say in how we are judged. No one gets to cast a vote for us or against us. No amount of manipulation or scheming will save us. We can’t achieve "immunity" by successfully completing impossible or unpleasant tasks.

The only way we can survive our day of judgment is to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can help us. Jesus explained, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

The Bible tells us that we’ve all been disqualified from the game of life. We’ve all sinned--we’ve all broken God’s rules. On the TV game show, losers simply return home to their families. But the losers in life spend eternity in hell.

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). God is a merciful judge. He wants every one of us to have the opportunity to "win." He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sin. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

All we have to do is believe--and receive the gift of everlasting life that God so freely gives. Then we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will not only survive the Judgment Day, but through God’s grace, receive a heavenly inheritance. We can live without fear, knowing that when our moment of truth arrives, we will not be cast out. Instead, we’ll be welcomed into a paradise so beautiful that it defies description. The Bible says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).

Will you be a "survivor?" The choice is yours. You might pray something like this:

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and will not survive the day of judgment without having a relationship with You. Thank You for sending your Son to pay the punishment for my sin and raising Him from the dead so that I can live forever in heaven with You. Please come into my life and help me live to honor You. Amen.

Bible references: NIV

© 2002 Good News Publishers. Used by permission.
Translated by permission of Good News Publishers
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