IN A TIMBER CAMP in the midst of the pines, two
men were strangely drawn toward each other. One of them was Tim, short and
humpbacked, with strong, sinewy arms, who had been in the camp many years and
was a general favorite. The other was a newcomer, a tall, broad -shouldered
young man, who carried himself proudly erect and had a clean-cut face and
steel-blue eyes.
To the surprise of all, Tim was attracted to
this man, Raymond Lee. In various ways Tim showed his preference for him, and
thus won the kindly tolerance of the young fellow. Tim said to him, "Ray,
you’ve got a lot to be thankful for. You know books, and you’ve had a
chance." Ray pondered over Tim’s words. A chance? Yes, he had, and had
thrown it away.
One day Raymond and Tim were working with a
large party of tree fallers. Suddenly a monarch tree of the forest crashed to
the ground. Above the noise a cry of pain and terror was heard. It was from
poor, crippled Tim. A branch of the fallen tree had swept him off his feet and
pinned him to the ground.
Raymond was the first to reach him. Carefully
Tim was freed, but found to be fearfully mangled. "I guess it’s all
over with me, boys," Tim said, trying hard to keep his voice steady.
"Ray, stay by me. Oh, be careful."
They carried him to the camp and a doctor was
sent for, but it seemed that he might die before the doctor would come. When
he was laid on a rude bunk, he said, "It’s death, boys. Tell me about
God. No one ever told me."
The men were silent, so Tim spoke again,
"Ray, tell me. It must be you know, because you’re different from the
rest of us."
All eyes turned toward Raymond. So he bent over
Tim and asked, "What is it you want to hear?"
"All ‘bout Him. You see, I don’t know
much. Can’t you tell me about Him? Pray for me!" Raymond was stunned.
His face grew white and stern. His father was a minister. He himself had been
a theological student and had been influenced by a skeptical classmate who had
lent him books that implanted doubt in his mind.
Thinking himself superior mentally, he had gone
on until he had cast aside the faith of his dead mother and had denied God. So
he had forsaken his studies, written defiantly to his father, and at last in
desperation hired himself out to work in the timber camp. All this flashed
through his mind, and now this dying man was asking him to pray for him. A
groan escaped him, and he said, "Tim, I cannot! I-" He paused,
unable to say that he did not believe in God, to whom dying Tim had now
turned.
Raymond could bear no more. Turning away, he
rushed out into the forest and strode here and there, caring not where. Face
to face he grappled with his great problem, his right relation to God. His
skeptical theories fell away from him. He had nothing now to stand upon. Then
came a struggle as for life, till at last he reached a decision that meant
everything to him, as with all his strength he won his way back to God with
the determination: "I will believe in God, and I will obey Him! I will
believe in Jesus, and I will trust in Him as my Savior I And I will tell
others the story of His saving love and do all I can to win them for,
Him!"
The shadows of evening were gathering in the
room where dying Tim was lying. Raymond entered, went to his side, and said,
‘Tim, I have been with God. He has forgiven me, sinner that I am. Now I have
come to tell you of His love." Then simply and tenderly he told the story
of God’s love in sending His beloved Son into the world to die for the
lost-to become the Sin Bearer of all who would accept His salvation: "God
commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us." "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all
sin." Romans 5: 8; 1 John 1: 7.
As others gathered around, they saw the light
that came into Tim’s face as he gasped, "I see!"
Raymond knelt down, and one after another of
the men knelt with him. Never had he prayed such a prayer before, for a soul
was on the verge of eternity. And God wondrously answered.
"Its all right!" Tim murmured,
"Ray, you tell everybody! "
"Yes, Tim, I will spend my life telling
it," he promised.
Tim said feebly, "I thank Him!" and
in a few moments all was over. Raymond then faced the men and said:
"Boys, I have gone back to the service I pledged to God many years ago.
You heard my promise to Tim. Will you forgive the spirit I have shown toward
you, and may I tell you something?"
"Yes, go ahead," said the leader of
the men. Raymond began at once and told them the story of Jesus and His love.
That night he wrote to his father, telling him of his conversion. The next
night he told the men still more, and the third night his father arrived to
help him. The glorious work went on until seventy souls had accepted Christ as
their own personal Savior and were rejoicing in His great salvation.
If you have been ignorant of the saving power
of God through Jesus, will you with an open mind behold it as earnestly as did
Tim, so that you also can say as fervently as he did, "I see." And
will you also open your heart to Jesus as Tim did, so that you can be able to
say as decisively as he did, "It’s all right"? If you do, rest and
peace will come into your life =^..^=
HOW FULLY can a man be changed by the saving
grace of Jesus? In the slums of New York, according to Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman,
lived a violent criminal who had already served three terms in prison. He was
also ignorant and profane. But one cold night as he sat dejected in an alley,
a city missionary came along and offered him a tract.
True to his violent and profane nature he
snarled and swore, then said, "If you want to help me, give me your coat!
You must see that I am freezing!" The missionary did so, although he was
thinly clad. Off came his coat, which he handed over to him. The poor man in
his great need had put Christianity to the test and found it true. The love of
Christ for him, through one of His humble servants, touched his heart and at
last brought to pass in him a great transformation of soul and reformation of
life.
That man was Jerry McAuley. He had been deep in
iniquity and far from God, but he became a wonderful winner of souls as the
leader of one of the greatest of city missions. Then after his life’s work
was done, as he was lying in his casket, one of New York’s great preachers
said, as he stood in a great pulpit and looked down upon his cold face, O all
men who have worked in our city, I think this man was almost the greatest. I
pay tribute to his memory. He has influenced the city profoundly in his
mission."
Then the poor came to have a last look at their
faithful friend, bending over his upturned face and wetting it with tears.
They were followed by a great company of men, each having a white rose to
place on his casket, a last token that he had won them from a life of sin to a
life of holiness. There were so many that the casket became a monument of
roses to the memory of the man who had been fully transformed and used in the
winning of the lost for Christ.
Have you been transformed through Christ, made
new in heart and soul? Has He made you unselfish, meek, and lowly? If not,
would you like to have Him do so and enable you also to live a changed life?
If you have not been transformed through Christ, call upon Him to save you
like Peter, who, sinking beneath the waves, said, "Lord, save me."
And "immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him."
Matthew 14:30,31. How quickly Jesus saved Peter, and how quickly He will
respond to your call also if you call upon Him! =^..^=
WHAT'S
NEW? 