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A DIVER’S SURPRISE

Many years ago, a scuba diver in Sydney, Australia was visited by a friend. Entering the living room, the guest’s attention turned to a large oyster shell prominently displayed on the mantel of the fireplace. In it was a folded piece of wrinkled paper. Asked about the significance of the shell and the paper, the diver told his friend the following story:

“One day, while I was diving among some wrecks just off the coast, a strange sight caught my attention. There, on a rock, was this oyster shell with a piece of paper sticking out of it. To my surprise, words were still visible on the paper. I held it up to my goggles to get a better view, and found that it was a Gospel tract!

“I wondered how it could have gotten there—at the bottom of the ocean, sitting in an oyster shell, perched up on a rock—basically on display waiting for me to find it. Then the thought flashed through my mind that God had sent it as a message to my soul, and there, in the ocean’s depths, I paused to read it through.”

The diver went on to tell his friend how the paper contained the story of the cross of Christ, where Jesus the Son of God died for guilty sinners like you and me. It told of the full and free salvation available to all who will repent and turn to God. He related how his heart was affected by the Lord’s message of salvation coming to him in such a strange and unexpected way. Right there, far below the ocean’s surface, he confessed his sin to a holy God and trusted Jesus Christ who died for him and rose again. By believing the gospel the diver was saved for eternity (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

He brought the oyster shell and tract up from the depths with care, treasuring them as the messengers of God to his guilty soul, and keeping them as reminders of the wonderful day he found salvation at the bottom of the sea.

Surely this is a miracle of the grace and wisdom of God. It shows us that He is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God was so concerned about one person that He met him in the depths of the ocean to speak to his soul.

Now He has used this message of the diver to speak to you where you are. He is seeking you: “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). He loves you and wants to forgive you, giving you a brand new life today and a home in Heaven. Have you repented of your sin and trusted Jesus Christ to be your Saviour? Do so today.

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation…. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” (Romans 10:9-13).

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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