A SERVANT of the Lord was quietly resting in his root after having preached Christ to some poor sinners, when presently a knock at the door was heard, and a gentleman was announced. After some words about the things of eternity, Mr. G— said,
“Well, you know, A—, I have often heard you preach, and have heard all you have to say on these matters, and all I can tell you is, that you are a Christian—I—am an atheist—and I neither believe in God, heaven, nor hell.”
“Very well,” said A—, “now I have listened to you and have heard all you have to say, let me ask you if you will do something for me?”
“Certainly, certainly, my friend.”
“Go home to your room, and for three nights after you have put out the light, before you throw yourself on your couch, when other men pray to God, say, ‘Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! I must face it! Where? God I won’t accept; heaven I disbelieve in; hell I deny; WHITHER am I going?’”
The first night he undauntedly put out the light, stood erect, repeating the words “Eternity! Eternity! Eternity! I must face it! Where? God I won’t accept; heaven I disbelieve in; hell I deny. WHITHER am I going?”
The second night, he hardly knew why, but he felt while he repeated the words he must have the light burning.
The third night, he again felt he must keep the light burning—ah, yes, and it was now, too, God in His wondrous grace and love was beginning to answer prayers, and to kindle a light in this man’s dead soul.
“Eternity! Eternity! Eternity!” he began, “I must face it. Where?... Heaven I disbelieve in.”... He stopped short—he could say no more—he felt he could not say, “God I won’t accept,” so powerfully did he feel the presence of a holy, righteous God. “WHITHER am I going!?” he added. As he groaned it out in an agony of despair, the answer came ringing in his ears, “Hell! hell! hell! that’s where I am going!”
Some days after, in an agony too terrible for words, he went and told A—, all he felt, adding, “What shall I do? What can you do for me?”
“Nothing,” replied A— , calmly, with his eyes fixed upon the ground, “Nothing.” “What am I to do, then?”
“Nothing,” replied A—, “nothing.”
“What! ‘Nothing,’ when I am in this state of agony and utter wretchedness?”
“No, nothing,” replied A—, firmly, as he stood motionless before his agonized friend, with his eyes fixed first on him, then on the ground, thankful indeed to see his friend feeling his utter helplessness with such reality, knowing that then, and not till then, God could come in.
“Can you stand there calmly and see me in this agony of despair, and tell me you can do nothing for me? You a Christian—I—an immortal soul going right down into hell! Can you stand and say you can do nothing for me, when you have brought me to this state—this agony of soul?”
“No,” replied A —, calmly, “I can do nothing for you, I am only a poor helpless, weak creature like yourself. You can do nothing, I can do nothing, absolutely nothing.”
“But I can tell you of One who can,” he continued, as he lifted his eyes upward and pointed his finger above, “God can, He is the only One who can; God can, and has done it all.”
That moment the light of God, in revealing Himself to man through the death of His Son, and all that he had heard by the hearing of the ear, but had never received, shone into this poor dark atheist’s soul with living power by the Holy Ghost.
Like a flash of lightning he saw for the first time the One who had done the work that was done, and that it was the Person who did the work that gave it its value; and he was “a new creature in Christ Jesus;” and for such all things are passed away; behold, all things are become new, God had said, “Let there be light; and there was light.” And truly the light that flowed into this newborn soul was beyond the brightness of the sun.
Yes, this precious soul had been brought right up into the very presence of God; but only to come down again “to speak of the things he had both seen and heard,” and soon he could say with the apostle, “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord... for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:5-65For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:5‑6).) E. O’N. N.