Spared from death

You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. — 1 Corinthians 6:20

 On August 6, 1945, Kanji Araki, then a toddler, was playing on the floor. Although an air-raid siren had sounded a warning, few paid it any heed since Hiroshima had previously escaped bombing. Then a blinding flash lit up the sky. Superheated air rushed at tremendous speed, knocking down buildings and setting the center of the city ablaze. In the days that followed the nuclear detonation, Kanji’s grandmother, brother, and sister died from radiation sickness.

As Kanji grew up, he experienced emotional conflict about those who suffered and died because of the bomb.  His parents were Christians, but Kanji adopted a secular view of life. Yet he felt a growing emptiness inside. He began to  study the Bible to discover for himself who Jesus is. At a spiritual turning point, Kanji put his trust in Christ, and his empty heart was filled with God’s wonderful assurance. When the Lord led him into the ministry, he cited 1 Corinthians 6:20 and said, “I was spared from death so that my life  might have a higher purpose in serving God.”

The apostle Paul had also been spared to serve God. “I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you,” he said., (Col. 1:25). What has God entrusted to you? — Dennis Fisher

Lord, I thank You for salvation,

For Your mercy, full and free;

Take my all in consecration,

Glorify Yourself in me. — Codner

READ:  Colossians 1:24-29

Knowing God gives meaning to life, and obeying God gives purpose to life.

The Bible in one year:

• Psalms 70-71

• Romans 8:22-39