Paul Revere

"The British are coming! The British are coming!" Jacob cried as he spurred his horse past Uncle Eric and thundered through the pasture back toward the barn. Uncle Eric soon caught up. "You must have learned about the Revolutionary War and how Paul Revere warned the colonists that enemy troops were coming," he said as they slowed the horses to a walk for the rest of the way in.Jacob grinned and nodded. "I wish I could have lived back then. Riding at night to warn people of danger must have been really exciting!"Uncle Eric shrugged. "Exciting, yes, but don't you think it sounds scary too? How many of us would really have dared to do that and risked getting captured?""I would have!" Jacob exclaimed as he dismounted and led his horse inside the barn to rub him down. "Maybe," said Uncle Eric thoughtfully. "But we have an even more important message to share with people, yet sometimes fear keeps me from sharing it."Jacob looked doubtful. "What do we have to tell people about?"Uncle Eric began to rub down his horse. "God has given Christians the task of sharing His message of love with the world. We need to tell people that Jesus died and rose again to free us from sin and that the only way we can be forgiven for our wrongs and have eternal life is by trusting in Him.""Oh!" Jacob frowned. "Won't they think we're kind of weird?""Do you think Paul Revere worried about what people might think when he warned them that the British were coming?" asked Uncle Eric. Jacob shook his head. "But we worry about things like that, don't we?" said Uncle Eric. "Our message is far more important than Paul Revere's, yet we often keep quiet out of fear of being embarrassed or judged. But time is short, just like it was for Paul Revere. Jesus is coming again one day to bring all those who trust in Him to live with Him forever, and no one knows when that will be. That's why we need to depend on Him to give us the courage to tell others about Him now."Jacob latched the door shut behind his horse and got an idea. "Next time we ride, maybe I'll shout, 'Jesus is coming! Jesus is coming!'"–Jean A. Burns