Poisoned Pills

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Proverbs 14:12 ESV). Perhaps you remember a twisted act of individual terrorism that happened a few years ago, it turned relief into tragedy. Someone had managed to put poison in some pain relief capsules - there was a sudden series of deaths from some people who took this particular brand. I remember reading, for example, about a flight attendant who arrived home after a trip with a serious headache. She reached for a couple pain relief capsules. I'm sure she thought they would make her feel better soon. Instead, she died from them. Our reading today is one of the most sobering, unsettling statements in the Bible. Several years ago, just before Good Friday, America was stunned by the mass suicide of 39 members of the "Heaven's Gate" cult. Then we saw some of the video testimonials made by those people just before they took their own lives. They talked about how at peace they were, how happy to be taking this next step - suicide. And we learned that these were not some religious freaks - they were bright, competent people. They believed very sincerely that they were graduating to something better. But listen to Jesus, the Son of God. He says, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10:9). And it is Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." If you're counting on anything or anyone other than Jesus to get you to heaven, you're just not going to make it. Sincerity doesn't make what you believe in right - that flight attendant sincerely believed that pain reliever would help her. Peaceful feelings don't validate what you're counting on either - the people who died from those poisoned capsules were expecting relief. They died instead. Our hearts are incurably spiritual. We need a spiritual answer, and we know it. We are looking for something bigger than ourselves . . . something that can give us significance . . . that can conquer the darkness inside of us . . . that can take us to something better someday. Ultimately, we are looking for a savior who can make us what we could never be otherwise and take us to a heaven we could never go to any other way. And there is only one Savior - there's only one Person who took the death penalty for the sinning you and I have done . . . that's Jesus . . . on the cross. And no belief, no religion - even if it is about Jesus - can get you to heaven when you die. Only the savior can do that. You may be on a beautiful spiritual road that looks and feels right - but like pain relievers that contained poison - it may lead to death.