WHEN I was residing, several years ago, in the village of C—, in Somerset-shire, I was well acquainted with one of the villagers, William D.
William was a believer in Christ, and his life testified to the reality of his faith. His walk and ways were consistent and exemplary. His wife was a stranger to the grace of God, and he was much tried by her dislike to that which he most valued. Her churlish, unpleasant, and ungracious manner repelled any attempt on the part of my husband and myself, and other Christian friends, to set the truth before her, and she always avoided us if possible, or met us with a sour countenance and signs of aversion which showed what was working within, and verified the solemn truth of God’s word that “the carnal mind is enmity against God.”
It happened on one occasion that her husband went to the village shop and bought some bacon for dinner. This was given to him wrapped in a piece of printed paper, which had been torn from a publication, containing a sermon on the words, “What think ye of Christ?” (Matt. 22:4242Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. (Matthew 22:42).) William did not notice what was on the paper, and when he returned home he took the bacon out of its wrapping, giving it to his wife to prepare for dinner, and then threw the paper into the fire, which happened to be very low, and, indeed, was almost burned out.
As the piece of paper lay upon the smoldering embers, before it was consumed, the words, “What think ye of Christ?” caught Mrs. D.’s eye, and they arrested her attention. “What,” said she to herself, “do I think of Christ?” She pondered the words as she bent over the fire occupied with her cooking. The Spirit of God applied them in power to her conscience. She could not get rid of them. They were constantly coming up before her, and she could not rest until in the end she realized, through grace, peace and joy in believing, and could say that she had found a Saviour and Friend in Jesus.
The subsequent change in her countenance and manner was remarkable. She would welcome us with a smile and cheerful words, instead of repelling us with the frown or silence of former days. Her whole conduct and demeanor evinced the fact that she had been “turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,” to the joy of her husband, and those who felt a real interest in her welfare.
H. P.