When I was born in the small village of Georgetown in Southern Ohio my dad had already been preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ for quite some time. He ended up preaching salvation through the Cross of Jesus Christ for nearly 40 years to an accumulative thousands upon tens of thousands of people until his sudden passing. When I was little I would pretend that I, too, was behind a pulpit preaching and I would make my siblings sit and listen to my "sermons." A lot of sons probably say this about their fathers but my dad really was a very special man. He was a man who loved Jesus. Oh boy did he ever love Jesus, and everyone could see it. You saw it on his face, in his words, and in his actions. My dad was the kind of preacher that whenever he preached a message the people did not leave afterwards saying "Wow, what a preacher," they went away saying, "Wow, What A Saviour!" We need more preachers like that today!!
It was at the age of 24 that I felt the clear calling of God upon my heart. For a time I co-pastored with my dad at the church he served and In 1984 we broadcast our first radio program which has since become a vehicle through which we have been priviledged to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with millions. I was very close to my dad. What a wonderful man of God he was. Though of course I knew that one day we would be reunited and I would see him again his sudden passing hit me very hard nevertheless. It wasn't his actual passing (after all, he was finally home) rather, it was that I had not had the opportunity to say goodbye to him. Of course we never really say goodbye to our loved ones when they know Jesus but as I have said I was very close to my dad and not having had the opportunity to say goodbye to this man whom I greatly respected, admired, and loved with all my heart was simply tearing away at my heart. Every day I wept. Every day I poured out my heart to God in deep, solemn, tear filled prayer asking Him to please take away the terrible agony and anguish in my heart. I kept saying to God "if I just had one more opportunity to say goodbye to my dad, just one chance God." Little did I know that soon I would experience first hand how when God hears the prayers of His children He often answers those prayers in a very powerful and unexpected way.
Two weeks after my dad passed away I was scheduled for a very simple medical procedure ,but, something went terribly wrong. The doctors performing the procedure discovered too late that I was extremely sensitive to the particular combination of medicines that they had administered to me through my iv. My heart began failing and failing fast. All members of my family were contacted and told to come immediately to the hospital. As doctors worked frantically at the task of trying to keep my heart going one of them stepped out and told my mother that I was not going to make it. She collapsed on the floor in the hospital hallway. The next thing I knew I was looking down at my motionless body laying on a gurney wondering why all those doctors were in such a panic. Then all at once I found myself standing on a street of solid gold and I beheld a small portion of those "things that God has prepared for those that love Him." In front of me was the throne of Almighty God. Sitting at His right hand was my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I saw "the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1). All of Heaven had been completely silenced. As I looked to my left there were millions upon millions of angels as far as the eye could see, all looking directly at me. All of Heaven had been completely silenced and there was a clear sense of (for lack of a better word) "anticipation" among the angels which I did not understand - until - stepping out from among them onto that street of solid gold was none other than my dad himself! Oh how wonderful he looked! That big smile that he had always been known for came across his face as he looked at me. He then walked up to me, opened his arms wide, and embraced me with a love that can not possibly be described this side of Heaven. Then, he smiled at me again and stepped back among the angels. By the time my brother arrived at the hospital he said that the crash cart the doctors had used to try to revive me had long since been put away. They had earlier called my time of death, the bed sheet had been drawn up over my face and my body was waiting to be wheeled into the hospital morgue. And there I was, still standing on that beautiful street of gold looking toward the throne of God when Jesus stood up and said to me - - "Mark, you need to go back." I said "I don’t want to go back." A second time Jesus said to me "You need to go back," and a second time I replied "Lord ,I don’t want to go back." A third time Jesus said to me "You need to go back" and suddenly I was gasping for air under the sheet that covered my body on that cold steel gurney. My brother shouted for a doctor but they had all long since left and were busy in other parts of the hospital. But within a minute or two a virtual stampede of doctors came running into the room, each of them with their mouth hanging open. "This is not possible" they kept saying. "This simply isn’t possible!"
I had spent every day for the previous two weeks pouring my heart out to God and saying, "If I just had one more chance to see my dad." God heard my cry and answered my prayer in a very unexpected and miraculous way. Why was I sent back? I don’t know the answer to that question but someday I will. I can tell you that I certainly did not want to come back. I am just an old "country boy" preacher who, every day is amazed at God’s infinite grace and mercy in that He knows absolutely everything about me, and He still loves me. What Christ has done for me He can do for you as well. This is the great hope that is exclusive to no one and available to all, that no matter the sins you have committed, no matter how low you have fallen, no matter how bad your past may be, YOU CAN BE SAVED - if you are willing to come with a repenting heart to the blood-stained Cross of Jesus Christ.
God bless you.
Mark Shutts
