A SHORT time ago, a dear young Christian was taken ill by typhoid fever, and passed away. On one occasion as she was lying very ill, her past life passed in review before her, including the books she had read, books that many call good books. As the books passed in review, the review was so sad that she said to her mother who came into the room, “Oh, mother, when will they have an end?” It was, indeed, a sad review, but the Lord graciously gave her that review that she might pass her own judgment upon all she had done and read, ere she passed into His presence. The review had an end, an eternal end, never to cause her another pang of sorrow nor regret. Oh, how different with the man in Luke 16! that was an eternal review in hell of good things once placed within his reach. Think for a moment what a tremendous and awful review that will ever be.
What an awful review will thousands have of the trashy novels, journals, and books read, each like a tongue of fire speaking of precious hours, that were worth worlds, spent over that which resulted in losing their precious souls! What a mighty harvest of opportunities of accepting Christ as a Saviour will pass in review before such, each soul having, no doubt, a most touching story connected with it! Scenes of the tenderest solicitude of mothers and sisters, and fathers and brothers. Scenes of sickness when promises were made to decide for and accept Christ, but broken time after time. Times when the heart was tender, and ofttimes sighed and longed to be a Christian, but put it off and off till too late-too late. These lost opportunities of salvation will revolve and revolve like a mighty panorama, each revolution deepening and intensifying the anguish of the soul. And thus will it be when millions of ages are past and gone. This future is too awful to contemplate.
Dear reader, now is the moment to accept Christ. That young Christian had accepted Christ before her illness! it would have been too late then if she had not done so. And, oh, will you, and can you, trifle with your soul’s eternal welfare, by spending your precious time over some trashy novels, books, or tales, and let slip the salvation of your precious soul? Oh, let the above solemn review influence you to accept Christ at once as a Saviour, that it may never be said to you, “Remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things,... but now... thou art tormented.”
J. R. M. F.