I could not find the original author, but this illustration captures well the dangers of being comfortable in church instead of going out to tell others about Jesus and His good news that they too can be saved.
On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little lifesaving station. The building was primitive, and there was just one boat, but the members of the life-saving station were committed and kept a constant watch over the sea. When a ship went down, they unselfishly went out day or night to save the lost. Because so many lives were saved by that station, it became famous. Consequently, many people wanted to be associated with the station to give their time, talent and money to support its important work. New boats were built, new crews were recruited, a formal training session was offered. As the membership in the life-station grew, some of the members became unhappy that the building was so primitive and that the equipment was so outdated. They wanted a better place to welcome the survivors pulled from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged and newly decorated building.
Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They met regularly and when they did, it was apparent how they loved one another. They greeted each other, hugged each other, and shared with one another the events that had been going on in their lives. But fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions; so they hired lifeboat crews to do this for them. About this time, a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought into the life-saving station boatloads of cold, wet, dirty, sick and half-drowned people. Some of them had black skin and some had yellow skin, Some could speak English well, and some could hardly speak at all. Some were first class passengers of the ship, and some were deck hands. The beautiful meeting place become a place of chaos. The plush carpets got dirty. Some of the exquisite furniture got scratched. So the property committee immediately had a shower built outside of the house where the victims of the shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting, there was a rift in the membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities, for they were unpleasant and a hinderance to the normal fellowship of the members. Other members suggested that life-saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that, if they wanted to save lives of all those various kinds of people who would be shipwrecked, they could begin their own life-saving down the coat.
And do you know what? This is what they did.
As the years passed, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a place that met regularly for fellowship, for committee meetings, and for special raining sessions about their mission, but few went out to the drowning people. The drowning people were no longer welcomed in that new life-saving station. So another life-saving station was founded down the coast. History continued to repeat itself. And, if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of adequate meeting places with ample parking and plush carpeting.Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.
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