Almost, But Lost

Many people in the world have heard the gospel message—that Jesus died for our sins. However, acceptance of Christ as personal Saviour is another matter altogether. Mere exposure to truth does not make one a Christian; it requires a decision to take sides with Christ who paid the penalty for our sins on Calvary’s cross. One may know all the facts of the gospel, may even faithfully read the Bible, be benevolent to his fellowman and moral and upright in his living but yet, at the end of his life, not be prepared to spend eternity with Christ in heaven. Such was apparently the case with Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known to us by his pen name, Mark Twain.Clemens is probably the best known 19th century writer and two of his most famous books were Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The first 36 years of Clemens’ life gave him experiences—as a boy in a little town in Missouri, as a steamboat pilot, as a reporter on the western frontier and as a traveler abroad—which he th