Three people were having breakfast early one morning, having been awakened by a beeping noise, as insistent as it was annoying.  The fourth member of the group, somehow still asleep, had not yet arisen.  What was that sound, they wondered.

“It’s getting light outside,” one observed, buttering a half-slice of toast. 

“But not here in the kitchen,” muttered another.  “Why don’t you open the curtains?”

The person nearest the window obliged.  The sunlight just admitted into the room illuminated a light haze hanging in the air, near the ceiling. “Ugh, that’s not any better,” the others protested.  Strangely, the room did seem to be growing perceptibly dimmer.

“Is it just me, or do you guys smell smoke?” asked one.

“You probably just burned the bacon,” someone said.  “Please pass the orange juice.”

“My eyes are stinging,” one of the threesome complained, gently rubbing them.

“Mine, too, whispered a second, stifling a cough.  “And my throat feels raspy.”

  “That’s odd,” somebody commented.  “The light at the end of the hall is flickering or something—”

“Bulb’s probably going” someone cut in.  “Have to replace it.”  The one who had noticed the flicker shrugged, while the third person nodded.

“Should we wake “sleeping beauty?” someone wanted to know.

“Nah, not yet” came the answer.  “It’s early, and I can see from here that the bedroom door is still closed.”  The speaker yawned, stood up, and reached for the coffee pot.  At that moment, the doorbell rang, taking everyone by surprise.  Who in the world could that be? raised eyebrows seemed to say.  The coffee pot was returned to its place, so that a surreptitious peek at the front porch could the more easily be taken.

“I know exactly who this is,” said one of the diners, putting down a forkful of eggs and pushing back from the table.

“It’s our neighbor!” announced the lookout.  “I wonder what HE wants at this hour.”

“Whatever it is, I’m not opening the door,” vowed the first to respond to this unwelcome news.

“Why not?”

“Sh-hh.  Pipe down!”  Then, a cautious question directed at the doorbell ringer: “Yes?”

“Hi, it’s your neighbor…”  He paused but, sensed no encouragement to continue.  “From next door,” he added helpfully, as if to distinguish himself from other neighbors who did not live next door.

“Yes?” the same wary, monosyllabic one-word reply.

“Well—the neighbor hesitated, as if unsure how to proceed—”I just wondered if everybody’s okay.  I was out for a run and noticed a strange glow in the window of your back bedroom.  I stopped for a minute or two, and thought I smelled smoke.  I didn’t want to disturb you, but thought I’d better check on you…”.  Embarrassed, his voice trailed off.

“We’re fine,” a voice inside the house stated flatly, in a tone intended to discourage probing for details. 

“Thank God!” replied the neighbor, sounding genuinely relieved.  This comment was met with silence.

“Was there something else?” the resident asked.  The neighbor gulped, said ‘no,’ apologized again, and went down the front steps with a sigh.  In the kitchen, attention was focused on the now absent interloper.

“The nerve of that guy!  Just who does he think he is?  Checking up on us!  All smug and superior…Why doesn’t he mind his own business?  He rudely interrupts our breakfast, rings the doorbell before anybody’s dressed, and one of us isn’t even up yet.  I’m surprised he didn’t whip out his safety manual and read us a few passages on the dangers of smoking in bed, or first aid for burn victims!”

“I didn’t realize you knew him.”

“Nope.  Proud to say I’ve never met him.  But I’ve seen his type before.  Acting like he’s Mr. Perfect.  What a hypocrite!  I can’t stand jerks like him, all ‘holier than thou.’

“I don’t know him, either, but I’m guessing he’s one of those guys who just wants your money.  That, and control.  I’m sure he’s very judgmental.  He’s probably narrow-minded, bigoted, hateful—even dangerous.  I’ll bet he loves to lord it over people.  No doubt he talks about love and acceptance and belonging, but he doesn’t really care about others.  If he did, he’d leave them alone, instead of trying to ‘save’ them all the time.  That creep must think we’re incapable of making our own choices.  How arrogant is that?  I hate him!”  The rest of the rant was choked off by a coughing fit.

“What if he’s sincere and is truly concerned for our welfare?” inquired the third member of the trio.  “Wouldn’t he think about us, keep an eye out for us, check on us, warn us if he thinks we’re in danger?  In other words, if he’s for real, wouldn’t he behave exactly as he just did?  Doesn’t that line up better with what we personally witnessed, than it does with your theories and guesses?”

“Don’t be so naïve.  Ask anybody and they’ll tell you the same thing—people like that are phonies or insane.  They have to be.”

“But, he’s not ‘people,’ he’s our neighbor—”

The discussion, such as it was, was interrupted by vigorous pounding on the front door, startling the whole trio.  The banging was accompanied by shouts.  Eyes were wide, faces blanched.

“Are you alright?” cried an anxious voice.

The bravest of the three tiptoed to the kitchen window and peered out.  “It’s that pest of a neighbor again.”

“What now?  I thought we’d got rid of him.”

“Just ignore him.  Maybe he’ll go away.”

“Hello, can you hear me?” yelled the neighbor, resuming his pounding, then pausing to listen.  “The smell of smoke kept getting stronger and stronger, so I ran outside for another look.  I can see flames at the back of the home.  Your house is on fire!”

The residents shook their heads and smirked incredulously as the neighbor Implored them to come out and urged them to hurry.  His kind were all the same—exaggerating supposed dangers, trying to scare you or guilt you into changing your whole way of life, terrified that somebody somewhere might be doing things their way and having fun in the bargain.

From faintly in the distance, sirens could now be heard, a result of the neighbor’s frantic phone call to emergency services.  Unable to persuade the home’s occupants to open the door, the neighbor warned them to stand back, and kicked it in.  Smoke and superheated air poured out, even as fresh air sought to gain entry.  Ignoring the resident’s protests, curses, and angry shouts that he would have to pay for a new door, the neighbor got down as low as he could and bolted for the rear bedroom, already nearly engulfed in flames, and brimming with toxic fumes.

He struggled to breathe and to see.  His skin immediately began to redden and blister, as he made his one desperate dash into the room and dragged a dead or unconscious figure off the bed and into the hallway.

Now severely burned, the man from next door was hardly recognizable.  His eyesight was gone and his strength failed.  He groped for the protective clothing of one of the arriving firefighters and fought to pull him close enough to be heard.  His sooty face twisted with pain and effort, the neighbor croaked, “Get them out.  My friends—four of them—get them out!”

The fireman bent low and spoke slowly and distinctly.  “We will, buddy.  We will,” he assured him.  On hearing this, the neighbor’s body heaved and shuddered and lay still, his last labored and shallow breath escaping in a feeble gust.  Singed hair, missing in spots, framed a face that though expressionless, suggested peace, perhaps even joy.

The captain of the responding engine companies stopped by the ambulances, to check the condition of the victims before transport.  Three of them appeared to have a good chance of surviving the ordeal, while the fourth was touch and go.  A medevac chopper had been ordered for this one, who still somehow managed to cling to life, a gift of the neighbor who chose to rescue him despite knowing he would pay the ultimate price for doing so.  The captain shook his head in wonder at the sacrifice.  “No greater love…” he murmured.

“What’s that, Cap?” asked a paramedic.  “Is that a Bible verse or something?”

“Part of one,” said the captain.  “I was quoting Jesus Christ.  ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’”  This guy sure did.  He must have known when he went in that he’d never make it out alive.  He really took to heart the command to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

“Beg pardon, Cap, but you’re way off.”

“Excuse me,” said the captain, stiffening.  “How do you figure?”

“The people he saved had avoided your DOA, there.  Never met him.  None of them even knew his name.  Yet he gave himself up for them.  Go figure,” said the paramedic.

“Maybe I will,” said the captain.  “Now I think I’ll have to.”

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words, and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repentmitating Christ (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can change you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams, and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  (Romans 10:9-10)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31) 
• “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)