“HAVE you got eternal life?" said a servant of Christ, lately, to an aged woman.
“No, sir; 'but I hope I shall.”
“How long before you expect to get it, for I suppose you are more than seventy years old?”
“O yes, sir; I am far beyond seventy.”
“Then when, may I ask, do you expect to get eternal life?”
“I do not know, sir; but my grandson says I must come and have it now; and though I tell him there is a great deal to be done first, he always says there is nothing to do for it, but I must come at once.”
“That is quite right. The truth is, that Jesus the Son of God has come down from heaven, and done a finished work. Did you never hear that He said when He died upon the cross, 'It is finished?' Well, how can there be anything for you to do, if He has finished the work of eternal redemption, and God now gives eternal life to all who believe in His name? God is now, then, giving people eternal life. He; says," The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Eternal life, then, is God's gift; and you surely do not require to do anything to obtain a gift, for if you did anything for it, it would be what you had earned, and not a gift. But I repeat that Scripture says, ‘The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' You have only, therefore, to come to Jesus the Son of God by faith, and you will receive eternal life as God's free gift." (Rom. 6:25)
“So my grandson says, sir.”
“Ah, but you must see that God says so in His blessed. Word, and rest on what God says, because God says it, for that is faith. Take God, therefore, at His word. Believe He means what He says, that" the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rely upon His faithfulness to His own word, and you will be happy. You will then know that all your sins are forgiven, and that you have, eternal life, and will never perish. There is no time to be lost, for Jesus is quickly coming, and God says, 'Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.' So refuse no longer this gift, but come to Jesus at once; come just as you are; come with all your sins and guilt; and remember, if you do not receive Jesus the Son of God as your Savior, you must go to hell, and be lost forever.”
“O sir, that would be terrible. But, sir, have you got eternal life?”
“Yes, my dear woman, through the grace of God, I have had eternal life for more than thirty years. Think, then, again of these precious words, ‘The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord;' and may God bless this conversation to the saving of your soul.”
Dear reader, have you thus come to Jesus, and received this marvelous gift of God—eternal life? Do you not know that Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand?" (John 10:27, 2827My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:27‑28)) Have you heard the sweet voice of Jesus the Son of God in the word of His blessed gospel? Did not He lovingly say, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest?" (Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)) Can you resist the claim upon your heart of such a voice of wondrous unutterable mercy? To think of the Son of God coming down from heaven, and, unasked and unsought, in a world that only returned Him hatred for His love, that He should freely present eternal life and peace to everyone that received Him, and heard His words. Again He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and. believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, or judgment; but is passed from death unto life." Oh, the preciousness of knowing, feeble and failing as we are, that we have eternal life in. Christ as a present possession.
“The soul that to Jesus hath fled for repose,
He will not, He cannot desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake
He'll never—no, never—no, never forsake.”