Artist: Excelsius
Song: Pick Up the Phone
Album: Liberation

I love Caller ID; I think it’s one of man’s greatest inventions. It allows me to see who is calling when the phone rings and affords me the opportunity to decide whether or not to answer the phone. If I see that it’s someone I want to talk to, like one of my friends, then I can choose to answer it; on the flip side, if it’s someone I’d rather not talk to at the time, like a bill collector, then I can just let it go to voicemail. Caller ID is great, but even then, you can miss out on some important calls, just because you don’t feel like picking up the receiver.

Sadly enough, this is the state of many people in the world today. They are looking at the Caller ID thinking that the call isn’t important enough to answer, so they just let it go straight to voicemail, without ever checking the messages. Instead, they would much rather keep doing whatever it is they’re doing and let the phone keep ringing. Apparently, whatever they’re doing is much more important than answering a phone call; so much so, that a lot of times they don’t even bother checking the Caller ID to see who’s calling. A lot of people are guilty of this, especially when they get behind on their bills. They avoid answering the phone at all costs because they think it’s a bill collector trying to get a payment. Instead of paying their bills or sacrificing a little, they would much rather let things fall further behind so that they can spend their money on things that are fun and pleasurable. These people just let bill collectors keep calling, that is, until they find out that their wages are about to be garnished, when they get that certified letter in the mail. It’s not until that point that they want to talk to the creditors and see what they can do to rectify things and start making good on their debts. But, sadly enough, by that time, it’s too late and the damage is already done. The worst part of this is that the creditors would have been more than happy to work with the person if they had only picked up the phone and talked to them.

What does this have to do with you? Well, God is the person on the other end calling, sending emails, text messages, and so on, but you aren’t picking up the phone or giving Him any kind of response. He’s trying to call and let you know that your account is overdrawn with sin and that the punishment for nonpayment is eternal death & damnation in hell. Instead of answering the call, you think that you’ll eventually get to a point where you’re making enough or doing enough good to pay off your debts, but that isn’t the case. God is trying to call and let you know that He’s the only one that can help you out; but, He can’t do that unless you pick up the phone. If you would just pick up the phone, you would find out that He’s already paid the penalty and fee for your sin, but that it won’t be official and active until you sign on the dotted line to close the account.

Going to our text, John 5:39-40, this is the same situation that we see the Jews facing. They were trying to pay off their debt to God by keeping the Law and searching the Scriptures. Little did they know that this wasn’t good enough and that there wasn’t any amount of good that they could do in order to achieve eternal life. But even in their searching of the Scriptures, they were completely missing the point. The Jews failed to see that the Scriptures were leading them to Jesus Christ, the Messiah that God had promised them. Because of their failure to see the correlation, they were unwilling to come to Jesus for salvation & eternal life. Their spiritual phone was ringing with Jesus on the other end, with their Caller ID reading “Messiah, the Anointed One of God” as clear as day, but they just weren’t seeing it because they were too caught up in their religious system. Of course there were some that decided to pick up the phone to answer His call, but the majority chose to ignore the call.

The situation holds true today, just as it did back then when Jesus was walking this earth. He’s calling and the signs are obvious, but it’s our choice whether we’re going to answer the call. We have the testimony of the Bible, people whose lives have been changed by the gospel, and so many other blessings right in front of us; yet, many still refuse to pick up the phone when they see Christ calling. The phone is ringing for you today, and it’s Jesus Christ on the other end, wanting to offer you an opportunity to settle your account with God. What are you going to do? Are you going to let it keep ringing until it’s too late, or are you going to answer it and take Him up on His gracious offer? Just like Matthew 22:14 tells us, “many are called, but few are chosen.” Everyone gets called, but the ones who are chosen are those who choose to exercise faith and answer the phone. Which one will you be?