Guys named Bunyan

As a child, I delighted in reading the tales of Paul Bunyan and his great blue ox, Babe. The territories of the west, filled with trees were laid clear all in a day under the swath of his mighty axe. Now that I am old and broken down, I find that another Bunyan gives me joy - only this one actually exists. His name is John and he once led a life most of us cannot imagine. John Bunyan was born an Englishman to a cruel father and poorly prepared mother. At an early age, John turned to the sea and began learning the arts and crafts of a sailor. Like many young men (myself included) John's naval exploits lent themselves to the darker side of life and he eventually fell in with slave traders traveling from Africa to the West Indies. In the early 17th century there was a great deal of money to be made in slavery and John trafficked many years in that deadly trade. Several times he was shipwrecked and once he even fell under the power of an African Queen who held him hostage on an island.

There were still Preachers of God's word during this time who warned men like John that their lives were accountable to God and no one ignores His terrible wrath forever. John ignored this message until one day it struck him as a harpoon might strike a breaching whale. Pierced through to his soul, John gave up his life of evil and composed one of the greatest songs in human history - Amazing Grace. Once a pirate and slaver, John Bunyan became a crier of warning to others such as he who faced the wrath of God, either in this life or the next.

John wrote, "Friend, because it is a dangerous thing to be walking towards the lace of darkness and anguish; and again, because it is (notwithstanding) the journey that most of the poor souls in the world are taking, and that with delight and gladness, as if THERE was the only happiness to be found, I have therefore thought it my duty, being made sensible of the danger that will befal those that fall therein, for the preventing of thee, O thou poor man or woman! to tell thee, by opening this parable, what sad success those souls have had, and are also like to have, that have been, or shall be found persevering therein.
We use to count him a friend that will forewarn his neighbour of the danger, when he knoweth thereof, and doth also see that the way his neighbour is walking in doth lead right thereto, especially when we think that our neighbour may be either ignorant or careless of his way. Why friend, it may be, nay twenty to one, but thou hast been, ever since thou didst come into the world, with thy back towards heaven, and thy face towards hell; and thou, it may be, either through ignorance or carelessness, which is as bad, if not worse, hast been running full hastily that way ever since. Why friend? I beseech thee put a little stop to thy earnest race, and take a view of what entertainment thou art like to have, if thou do in deed and in truth persist in this thy course. "

What course might you be on? If you aren't sure, may I suggest you take some time and find out? All of the pleasure in the world means nothing to the dying soul wracked in pain suffering from malignant cancer, or the bereaved family whose father has just perished at the hands of a drunken driver.

Jesus Christ once said, "I am the way, the truth and the life". He demonstrated the veracity of His statement by getting up from the dead. No one else has ever done this. There are so many things of which our world is ignorant of today - don't let your eternal destiny be one of them.