"Push the Button, Max!"

One movie we enjoy watching as a family is "The Great Race" (with the exception of my wife who finds it "Extremely irritating!") starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Peter Falk.  It is a fantastic and ridiculous showdown between "The Great Leslie" and "Professor Fate" as they race from New York to Paris.  Memorable scenes include the epic western brawl in Boracho and the pie fight in Potsdorf.  One of the recurring lines in the film is when Professor Fate cackles evilly and barks out the command:  "Push the button, Max!"  Whenever the hapless henchman pushes the button, only bad things seem to happen!

The line rushed through my mind this morning as we waited to cross the street to catch the bus.  When we arrived at the crossing, a woman already stood on the corner, awkwardly close to the button.  No matter, I though to myself.  She's already pressed the button, and it would be a bit rude to ask her to move aside to push it.  It became clear is she had not pressed the button because the green light never signaled for us to cross.  Engrossed in conversation, the only reason why I noticed was a single man from the group of ten people that had assembled by then struck out by himself to cross the street.  That's the last time I assume someone has pressed the button, I thought to myself.  Even if I have to ask someone politely to step aside, I am going to make sure the button is pressed by me or someone else.

There is very little risk in assuming that someone has neglected to press the crosswalk button.  The consequence is having to wait for the lights to cycle through again and lose a couple of minutes.  Yet there are some assumptions we can make in this life that lead to far greater loss - even loss of life for eternity.  Many people pass through this life assuming they are going to heaven.  They think that if there is an afterlife for those who are good, they certainly will make the grade.  There could be others that assume because they attend a church, own a Bible, and pray over meals, going to heaven for them and their family is a certainty.  Perhaps there are some who think because their parents were "good Christians" or because they were baptised or christened as a child, their heavenly booking is approved.  But going to heaven is not like waiting to cross a street, where one person pushes the button and everyone else can tag along.  Before our bodies die, we must each make a decision to repent and trust in Christ alone for salvation.  He is the Way, the only path that leads to heaven and eternal life in the presence of God.  If we die before the divine transaction of justification through faith takes place, hell is our only destination.

Jesus has paid the price, but the only way for His divine payment to apply to our lives is through genuine faith in Him.  How terrible would it be for a person to assume they are going to heaven when the exact opposite is true!  One of the consequences of the day in which we live - one of medical advancement and widespread treatment options - is we are not accustomed in westernised societies to facing death.  Television and computer screens are filled with renditions of death, and we become detached to the reality of our mortality.  It used to be common to have parents and multiple siblings die young.  I was 12 years old before I experienced a death in the family, that of my Grandma Cecil.  She lived a full life, and was in her 80's before she went the way of the earth.  The finality of death hit me hard.  Now about 25 years older, I have seen many people pass away.  To some degree, death always seems to catch people off guard in the timing, the means, and our emotional response or lack thereof.

Romans 10:8-10 reads, "But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  No one can push the button of belief and faith for you.  Have you confessed publicly that Jesus Christ is your LORD and Saviour?  Have you based your assurance of salvation upon meeting the conditions set forth in the Bible?  When we truly believe something, it will govern the way we live.  If we love Jesus, we will do what He says.  Our faith is to be demonstrated through our works.

Don't take for granted you are going to heaven.  Assume nothing.  No one can push the button for you.  Should we procrastinate when eternal life or death hangs in the balance?  Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."