Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Life (06/15/06)
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TITLE: THE ROBBERY THAT GAVE LIFE | Previous Challenge Entry
By Ryan Rice
06/22/06 -
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The gunman began shouting demands to both Ann and I. “Open the safe now. And if anyone comes I will kill you both!” With each deep breath I took, time moved even slower. “Will this ever end?” The gunman ushered us into the back room taunting us with his usurped authority. In my heart, I heard the Lord say, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV). Unfortunately, all I heard was kill, steal and destroy.
At that moment, I finally realized how precious my life was. People spend lifetimes searching for their purpose and all I wanted was to live to see tomorrow. I did not need to climb Everest or skydive from the highest peak, but look to the life giver to discover life itself. With death staring me eyeball to eyeball, the Fathers love began to consume me like a rushing river. “O, death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?” (1 Cor 15:55 KJV).
In the moments closet to my death I began to live. The treasures and trappings of this world seemed as nothing compared to the life that was to come. By this time, the safe was open, computers smashed and all the money was in the robber’s hand. Ann and I stood in the back office both praying and crying out to the Lord for His protection.
Jesus said, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25 NKJV). This life is plagued with sin, hate and sorrow, yet God gave his only begotten son for us that we could live. I prayed, “Father if this is your will, let it be done, but Lord if you allow me one more day, my life is totally yours.” My prayer continued, “Lord I want to live, live for you and your glory not my own.”
Standing in the back room with tears streaming down my face, I watched the robber pacing back and forth contemplating what to do with us. “I am not going back to jail!” He shouted. “I don’t know what I’m going to do!” He then instructed us to lie on the floor one on top of another. As I lie there, with eyes closed, I thought this is it, the end…
Lying on the cold floor, I began to hear the robber’s footsteps leaving the room. Our lives were spared.
After this experience, it became evident to me that life was much more than the corporate ladder of success or the huge house with the white picket fence. Instead, it was intended to be a life that honored the Lord in everything. The abundance that Jesus spoke of was a life free of the cares of the World and focused on the Kingdom of God.
The apostle Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Paul understood the life was Christ and that was all he needed to survive. Until we realize this truth, we will never live, until we die.
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Something that moves at this pace and with this level of reader engagement deserves a more sizzling opener, I think. What about taking your third sentence, which is a real grabber, and using it as an opener? For instance: "Time seemed to freeze. If life is one big test, this was going to be mine." After that, you can creatively weave in the details, because the reader ain't goin' nowhere--you got 'im hooked!