“THE SAGA OF BEN TRYIN’ ”
“THE SAGA
OF BEN TRYIN’ ”
There’s a poor fellow … a Roman Catholic I think … in
hospital on the point of death … and his name is Ben Tryin’ … and he’s desperate to know whether he’ll get
to heaven when he dies … but he doesn’t know how … put it this way … he has no
assurance.
He’s been trying to be good, living a moral life,
going to church, confessing his sins and so forth, but he has no assurance
of eternal life in heaven.
Anyhow, there are these three nurses on his
ward … all professing to be Christians … who are aware of his
predicament in getting to heaven.
And so one by one, they come in to have a talk,
hoping to comfort and put his mind at rest, before he dies.
The first nurse, Miss Copy N Do comes in and
sits be his bedside.
With great effort, Ben blurts out “Help me Nurse …
I’m trying hard … but I have no assurance of going to heaven!”
Miss Copy N Do replies “Look Ben, it’s simply
up to you. Have you renounced your old life of sin? Everything you have ever
done has got to go! You have got to give up any gambling, drinking, bars and
evil nightclubs, lose some weight, stop being a glutton and looking at dirty
magazines?”
She goes on “It’s so simple … do like Jesus … what
he did. Furthermore, you must start filling your mind with all things pure and
lovely of those things in heaven. You must love the Lord and hate evil.”
Ben, on his last legs, starts to gurgle and gasps
for breath.
So Miss Copy N Do calls for back up.
In walks the second nurse called Miss Relax N Befilled.
Ben, without hope and God, clutches her hand and
whispers “I don’t have much time … help me break though to God!”
She is at her wits end, and not knowing what to do,
blurts out “Ben! Ben! Listen to me! Quickly, you must give your heart to Jesus!
Reach out your hand and take Jesus’ hand, and invite him into your heart.”
She goes on “You must fall on the Rock of Jesus …
let him be your covering of righteousness … your wedding garment … let the Holy
Spirit fill your life right now to overflowing … just relax and let go and
let God! Do you feel it? Let the Holy Spirit burn and purge out all the sin
in you!”
Right then, the supervising physician comes in and
says “Miss Befilled, your time is up.”
And so, the third Nurse Miss Law N Grace enters
Ben’s room … but she doesn’t try to urge him to try harder or get filled, but
says the following …
“Look Ben, the Ten Commandments have demanded that
you be sinless and perfect … have you?”
Ben answers “No”
Miss Law N Grace continues … “Then that makes you a
sinner does it not?”
Ben says “Yes … but I haven’t been all bad. There
are some worse than me.”
Miss Law N Grace says “Look Ben, God doesn’t weigh
your good and bad deeds on a set of scales. Did you know that even if you
commit one sin in your life you are guilty of breaking them all? That is the
nature of God … he cannot let one sin or sinner into heaven, but cast you into
the fires of hell for everlasting torment!”
Ben looked stunned … he’d never heard this before.
Miss Law N Grace goes on saying “The Bible says but
God commendeth his love toward you, in that while you are now a sinner, Christ
died and paid the penalty for your sins with his shed blood … past, present and
future.”
Ben, on his last legs, gasps “Go on!”
Miss Law N Grace then lets him know that Christ has
lived the perfect sinless life on his behalf … the one that he should have
lived.
Ben says “What’s all that mean? I’m lost … what
must I do?”
Miss Law N Grace says “Nothing but believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, who has paid your sin debt to God already … it’s as if you
have satisfied the Ten Commandments by Christ fulfilling them for you … on your
behalf. It’s not about your working harder or getting filled with the Holy
Spirit. All things necessary for your salvation have been done. All your boxes
have all been ticked, by the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?”
Later that
night Ben passed away in his sleep …
Did Ben get
saved? … Which nurse did he believe?
Harley
Hitchcock
October 2024
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