Jim was the name of this boy. His father and mother were both dead, and he was now left to make a living any way he could. He felt he had no friend at all, but God had His eye on him.
One Saturday night, Jim went to sleep on the doorstep of a large house, wishing he had some of the nice food he had seen in a bakery window.
He slept until about five o’clock in the morning when another poor boy came to him. “Come, Jim, wake up; I am hungry. If you come with me, I will show you where we can get plenty to eat, for I saw a storekeeper close his window without locking it.”
Jim asked if the things would be given to them. “No, but we can take them,” was the answer.
“I won’t steal,” said Jim, “and you cannot make me steal more. Just as my mother died, I promised her I wouldn’t steal. You go, but I won’t.” With that, the other boy went his way, leaving Jim alone and hungry.
Nine o’clock came, and the bells began to ring for Sunday School. When Jim saw the boys and girls going in he thought he would like to do so too. So he wiped his bare feet on the doormat and walked in. This was a new experience for the poor young boy.
When the Sunday School hour was over, the teacher talked with Jim about himself. She learned that he was an orphan and that he had had nothing to eat. She then took him to her home and gave him some breakfast.
The Sunday School teacher’s father was a lawyer and she knew that her father needed an office-boy, one who could run errands and keep the office neat and clean. Jim was given the job and he did well at it. Then he was sent to school and in this too he did well, learning his lessons quickly.
The years passed by as Jim went on with his school work. At the same time he continued to work part-time in the law office. In school he majored in the study of law and in due time he became a partner in the lawyer’s office. Later on he actually became a judge in the courts oh his city.
Of the other boy we know very little except that some years after the event with which our story began, he was caught as a thief and was sent to prison.
So you see that it is a good thing to trust in God at all times and in all circumstances. God did not allow poor Jim to starve. He raised up friends for Jim, who took care of him and guided him aright.
There may be some poor boy who is reading this story. He may never become a judge, it is true, but let him trust in God, who will not turn away from anyone who trusts Him.
ML 01/14/1968