A MONTH or two ago there was an underground disaster in London. It was stated that an inexperienced porter telephoned from one station to another drawing attention to a fault in the signal wiring. When it was realized what he really meant there was a rush to stop the trains, but the official was a minute too late. One train had run into the rear carriage of another, and seven people were killed, and fifty-five seriously injured.
When I read this I was amazed at the value of even a minute of time.
In Luke 13 we read of a fig-tree of which the dresser of the vineyard said “Behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none; cut it down; why cuereth it the ground?” The answer is, “Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.” One year’s grace was allowed to it, and special privileges granted.
In Genesis 7 we read of Jehovah’s invitation to Noah, “Come thou, and all thy house into the ark.” In verse 10 we have the week of grace allowed, “And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.” Our God is indeed the God of all grace, long-suffering, not willing that any should perish.
In Numbers 14 we find the account of the children of Israel refusing to enter the promised land. In verse 40 we read, “And they rose up early in the morning” and they were ready to go up unto the place which the Lord had promised, but they were a day too late. They might have entered in on the preceding day, but now they must die in the wilderness.
In Luke 23 one of the robbers on the cross beside the Lord of glory, had his eyes opened to see, and his heart to believe on the One by his side, and his mouth to confess Him as the Sinless One, Lord, and King of a coming Kingdom. He availed himself of that day of grace, and secured heaven and eternal happiness with the Lord Jesus. True it was but part of a day he had, but he will bless God throughout eternity for that piece of a day, and how constraining love opened his heart to the Saviour.
A year, a week, a day, an hour—a minute. Can I be saved in a minute? Can a door be shut in a minute? See Genesis 7, “And the Lord shut him in.” See also Matthew 25, “And the door was shut.” Yes, you can be saved in a minute: God can be just now, and the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. You can take the sinner’s place, and believing God’s gospel, accept the Saviour in a minute. Your after-life will prove the reality of it, and eternity unfold the glories connected with it. Oh, my friend, let me entreat you, linger not another moment,
“Eternity’s ages thy soul has to face,
In blackness of darkness, or riches of grace.”
From “Remember.”
REMEMBER that it is one thing to be saved, and quite another to feel it. The one may exist without the other; and there are no doubt very many children of God, who have never had the sweet assurance of salvation, which is the seal of the Spirit. Directly you look to Jesus, you are saved, whether you feel it or not. Don’t think about your feeling; don’t think about your faith; look to Jesus; and reckon that God will keep His word.
F. B. Meyer.