“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
Some years ago I was living in one
of the Alpine valleys of Southern France, preaching to one of the little
Huguenot congregations while I was pursuing my studies at the University of
Grenoble. Every Thursday morning I walked four miles up the valley to a
little centre where I taught a score of children about God. In that
village there lived a Roman priest who, on Thursday, used to come down the
valley to a village near the one where I lived. Frequently our paths
crossed, and at times we found ourselves going the same direction.
One day as we went along together
he said to me, “Why do you Protestants object so strongly to our praying to the
saints?” I asked him to explain what advantage there was to be gained
from praying to the saints. He replied, “Well, suppose, for example, that
I wanted an interview with the President of the Republic. I could go to
Paris and arrange for an interview with any one of the members of the
cabinet. In the same way I may obtain the intercession of the Virgin and
the saints on behalf of my desires as I pray.” I said to him, “Sir, let
me ask you a question. Suppose that my father is the President of the
French Republic. Suppose that I live in the Palace of the Elysee with
him, sit at his table three times a day, and am frequently the object of his
tender solicitations, and know the touch of his loving hand. Do you think
for a moment that if I have a problem to present to him that I am going to go
across Paris to one of the ministries, pass all the guards and secretaries that
surround a cabinet member, and finally reaching his office say, ‘Monsieur le
Ministre, would you be so kind as to arrange an interview for me to talk with
my daddy?’ Do you not rather think that I will look him in the eye at one
of the moments when he puts his arm across my shoulder in a gesture of
affection, and then tell him that I have a request to make?” The priest
was taken aback.
Access! Think of it. At
any moment, in any place, I may go to the Father, knowing that with Jesus
Christ as my one Mediator I will be instantly received. I am a child of
the King. I have become at the very moment of my new birth an heir of
God, and a joint–heir with Jesus Christ. I have “an inheritance that is
imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” for me (cf. 1 Peter 1:3).
Originally posted on 11/26/12 at “Making God’sWord Plain” by Donald Grey Barnhouse
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