“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:33And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)). The Lord abhors the pretensions to goodness which man is so ready to entertain, but delights to unveil the beauty and simplicity of His grace to the humble soul.
One Lord’s day evening a preacher, who had been speaking of Christ to a small company in a room, was asked to speak to a middle-aged man, who remained after the service had closed. He had listened attentively throughout the evening, and now his face wore a troubled expression.
“Do you know the Lord?” said the preacher to him. The man shook his head.
“Are you a sinner?” was the next question. And the answer was “Yes;” spoken with deep feeling. It was evidently not the “yes” of carelessness, but of true conviction of sin.
“Well, if so,” said the servant of God, “what are you going to do?”
After a short pause, he replied, “I shall say my prayers.”
“That is of no use,” answered the preacher, “if you could live as long as Methusaleh, and pray all the time, that could never save you.”
The man started at these words, and said: “What must I do then?”
The Divine answer in Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31) was at once given: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” And in a few simple words Christ was pointed out as the Saviour of sinners, who had already done all that had to be done in order to clear the guilty. The man’s face brightened as he listened. He believed the word of God. He was entirely uneducated, and unable to read or write, but that was no hindrance that night to his receiving the gospel as a little child, and owning the Lord as his Saviour.
He still rejoices in Christ and His salvation. Though unable to read the Scriptures for himself, the Lord provides for him; and he finds amazing comfort in the texts that he carries in his memory. The widow’s stock of meal was small, but it did not fail. However little we may possess, the Lord can make it sufficient, if there be only simple faith to look to Him.