GIVING TO GOD

 THE FAMILY ALTAR - Hertzberger

"October 3.

"Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing

come unto thee." John 5:14"

What worse thing could come to the impotent man who had

been sick thirty-eight years as a result of his sin and whom the

Lord had so graciously cured at the pool of Bethesda? Thirty-

eight years of pain, of restless days and often sleepless nights, is

that not enough of misery, not enough of punishment? It ought

to be ; but when former patients fall back into their old evil habits,

their last state is worse than the first. Not only does their bodily

health suffer a dangerous relapse, but their immortal soul is in

greatest danger. By relapsing into sin these people lose the faith

they had perhaps found on their sickbed, lose God's grace, and if

they persist in their godless ways and finally reach the brink of

the grave, then comes the worst thing of all — in death they are cast

by the wrath of the just God into outer darkness where weeping,

and wailing, and gnashing of teeth will be their lot forever. Damna-

tion, eternal damnation, where their worm dieth not, and the fire

is not quenched, and the smoke of their torment goeth up forever

and ever — that is the worse thing against which the Savior here

warns the impotent man whom He had cured, and also all former

patients. Let none of them forget that the goodness of God in

which He restored them to health is a continual call to repentance.

They owe it to their merciful Savior to spend the remaining years

of their life in His service and not in the service of sin. May all

the sick who sought and found God's mercy on their sickbed and

vowed to give Him their life keep their sacred promise after their

return to health and sin no more, lest a worse thing come to them.

He has made our sin-sick souls whole through His saving grace

in Jesus' blood. Oh, may He help us never to forget His great

mercy toward us, but to thank and praise Him as long as we live !