A little girl of ten years of age, whose name was Milly, had a grandfather who was very old. He grew weaker every day, and his friends said he could not live much longer.
Milly heard this, and was sorry, for she loved him very much. Being a little girl who trusted in Jesus, she prayed that her grandfather might also believe on Him and be saved; for she felt what an awful doom would be his if he died in his sins. He lived a good distance from her home, so she could do no more than pray for him; and God heard her prayer and answered it.
One day her mother received a letter saying how very ill the old man was, and how much he would like to see Milly. Although he lived a long way off, Mrs. G. let her little girl go; and thus made the grandfather’s heart glad. When he saw his little favorite, he cried with joy, and when the others had gone from the room, and they were left alone, he said to her:
“Well, Milly dear, and what have you been learning at Sunday-school? Can you sing something to me?”
“O yes, grandfather,” the little girl replied, and in a moment her childish voice was sounding through the room, and the aged pilgrim bent to listen to that sweet hymn: “Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so.”
When it was finished, he asked
“How do you know that Jesus loves you, Milly?”
“Because the Bible says so, grandfather,” was the ready answer; “and He loves you too.”
“Can you show me, Milly?”
“O yes, I’ll run and get my Bible,” the little girl replied as she ran off, returning soon with her finger pointing to John 3:16, which she slowly read,
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
“But, Milly, that does not mean me,” said the old man.
“O yes, grandpa, it does, for it says ‘whosoever.’”
“And what does ‘Whosoever’ mean, dear?”
“O, just any one who will believe that Jesus died for them, and they shall have everlasting life,” was the beautiful answer.
“Read it again, Milly,” was the only reply, and again the childish voice was heard repeating those words of eternal life.
“It means me, I see, Milly; and I am one of the ‘Whosoevers.’ Well, I do believe in Jesus,” exclaimed the old man.
Milly was delighted when she heard this, and all his friends were pleased too; for now his weary feet would be sure of entering through the gates of heaven and up to the throne where Jesus sits, because he believed on the Son of God, and was forgiven and made fit to stand in the presence of his Redeemer.
ML 01/13/1946