Christian Living

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Saving 8 Track
© 2006
by

Stephen A. Peterson


In Shawnee, Oklahoma, there was a mentally retarded man everyone knew as “8 Track”. That, of course, was not his real name. He acquired the name as he was skillful in repairing 8 track tapes.

One day as he was walking his usual route between the Post Office Building and the Public Library, 8 track approached me to ask if I had any tapes that needed repair. Seeing what he thought an 8 track tape, he asked, “Is that an 8 track? You know I can fix them like new!”

“No, it is not, 8 track. It’s a Bible,” I responded.

“Bible? What’s a Bible?”

I explained to him that the Bible is the Word of God. That God so loved us that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from eternal death. I went on to tell him that me, him and everyone had sinned and that Jesus had been sent to earth to die so that everyone’s sins could be forgiven and we could have eternal life.

“You’re telling me that Jesus died for me so I could have that?” he asked. “Are you for real?”

“You bet. It’s true!”

“Then who’s been keeping all of this from me?” he demanded in amazement. “I’m almost forty years old.”

Who and why? Was it because he was retarded that no one had ever bothered to tell about Jesus Christ? What about the rest of us? Are we all a bit retarded when it comes to grasping this amazing and free gift from God? Wouldn’t we live our lives differently if we fully grasped God’s love and the price He paid for us to live with Him for all eternity?

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