GOTCHA!

They came for me the other day. Knock. Pause. Knock-knock-knock. Pause. Knock-knock. Pause. Etc. Pretty official sounding. Two guys. Flashing badges. Somber. Polite. Clean-shaven. Dark jackets. Opaque shades. Oily. Wiry. Drab. Grim. May we take a look, sir? Oh, and one question, sir. Was I watching TV, sir?

Let me have men about me that are fat;
Sleek-headed men
and such as sleep o' nights:
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look;

He thinks too much: such men are dangerous.
The Bard
J.C. (Julius Caesar, that is, not our J.C.)
Somewhere in Act I

I couldn’t have said it better. Dangerous. Messrs. Cassius and Clay.

They were the Television Police. (For those who missed the scoop on those nefarious characters, click here.) These men, with the l. & h. look, were representatives of that august body known as The TV Licensing Board of the United Kingdom. Probably armed. Who knows? These intrepid door-knockers toiling faithfully for H.R.H. E.R. II may have had to mow down a whole tribe of recalcitrant, obstreperous, bellicose couch potatoes who refused to give Her Majesty, Her Majesty’s due. TV addicts who think nothing of watching the tube for free! Free? How dare they? BBC for nothing? What impudence! The gall!

So there I was, my liver all a-quiver. Sometimes it causes me to tremble. Where was I gonna run to? What would they do to me? Confiscate my Bach? Or, God forbid, my peanut butter?

That got me thinking.

What’s the worst thing that can happen on earth? Dreadful torture, life imprisonment, horrible disease, death itself? Take your pick. The good thing is that all of these will come to an end. Sometime. None of these can last for ever. It might be death itself that provides blessed release from these agonies. But they will all end. That’s why eternal punishment is so unfathomable. Eternal! ETERNAL! Never ending! Eternal separation from God. With no end in sight. Ceaseless condemnation. Perpetual perdition.

And so I thank God for ETERNAL salvation. For Jesus Christ who died for me on the cross to pay for all my sins, past, present, and future. His resurrection proves the efficacy of His sacrifice. Now sin is no longer an issue between me and God. Where once sin separated me from my Creator, now a Savior has provided access to Him. No longer need I fear the eternal and dreadful consequences of sin. Instead, I’m assured of an eternity with God. Saved! And this salvation is free. FREE! (Unlike BBC!) And all it takes to partake of this free gift is to place one’s trust in Jesus Christ, believing in Him as one’s only God and Savior, who paid the price for one’s sin, fully, finally, forever!

For God so loved the world
that He gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish,
but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

I don’t know where you stand on this issue. But if this act of faith is something you haven’t undertaken yet, may I urge you to do that as soon as possible. The most important decision of life. But simple. Believe! In the quietness of your heart. Take that step of faith. Place your trust in Christ for your eternal salvation. Would you?

PS: They left. The TV militia. The unsung knights of the United Kingdom. Peacefully. No guns drawn. No daggers unsheathed. No blood spilled. They agreed that I didn’t have time to watch TV. Enjoy your Bach, they said. And don’t overdo the JIF, they advised. No TV either, they warned. I saw them out. Jail will have to wait. For I still have to dissertate.