HE was a young man, and quite meant to enjoy life to the full. Strong, healthy, and of good physique, he attended a ball on the Friday, went to his work as a woodcutter on Saturday, little dreaming that it would be for the last time.
Following the engine which was dragging trees out of the wood, he was struck in a vital spot by a log and knocked to the ground. Examined and removed to the infirmary of a neighboring town, the doctor saw at once that the end was not far distant. He passed away early on the Tuesday following.
“How sudden!” you say. “Yes, very sudden,” we re-echo; “and a ball is not a good preparation for eternity.” Whether this young man gave any evidence of a change of heart before he passed away, I know not; but let me ask you, dear reader, “Had it been you, where would you now be?” Do not shirk the question; look it squarely in the face, and answer it to the God with whom we have to do.
“Accidents will happen,” we often say, and you may be the next victim. Who knows? Should it prove fatal, what about your immortal soul? No doubt this young man had heard the gospel often, but, like many others, treated it lightly. God gave him time and opportunity to accept His salvation for three days before he passed away. You may not get so long. Don’t you think it would be better for you to close with God’s Christ in health and strength, rather than defer the salvation of your precious soul to a dying bed, which perhaps you may never have?
After the funeral of that young man, the writer heard the following remark “So you have seen the last of him, Jack?”
“Yes,” said Jack;” it is all over with him now.”
The last of him! All over now! So men would try to persuade themselves, forgetting that after death comes the judgment.
It may be all over in regard to having to do with men, but what about meeting God? Are you ready for that, dear reader?
Vain is the delusion of Satan to get men to think that death is an eternal sleep. Your never-dying soul must live on throughout eternity, either in glory with Christ, or in the horrors of eternal darkness with the one who is alluring men on to destruction. The latter need not be: God’s mighty, infinite, and eternal love has been made known in the death of Christ, and that same death declares His righteousness and provides a shelter for the vilest sinner who will avail himself of it.
The last grains in the sand-glass of time are fast falling, the day of grace will soon be over, the door of mercy forever shut, and you may find yourself outside, having missed the golden opportunities of a lifetime. This need not be. If you trust Jesus now, you will be ready to enter the golden gates of the Father’s house. Oh, come to Jesus now!
R. P.