There is a quiet seaside village in Scotland, not far from the capitol. The majority of its inhabitants are fishermen, among which are quite a number of God-fearing men. Some of the more recent villagers are miners who came there to work in a nearby mine, but there are few real Christians among them.
In the month of March, a few years ago, God began working among the people of the village. Special gospel meetings were held and there were some bright cases of conversion. Then on the first day of April the miners went out on a strike. Many of the miners who were not working because of the strike drifted into the gospel meetings, and a goodly number were truly converted to God. Among these was Tom—the subject of our story. The story itself falls in-to five brief chapters.
Chapter one opens in a fisherman's shed, close to the little harbor where the boats are lying. It is Thursday afternoon. Four miners have just dropped in and engaged in conversation with two fishermen. The fishermen are Christians and are speaking of the gospel meetings being held and of the wonderful way God is dealing with souls. They then suggest to the miners that they should all go to the meeting that evening. One young man speaks up in favor of going to hear the gospel, but Tom says: "Well, I have a ticket for a concert and am going there, so I shall not be at the meeting.”
One of the fishermen starts to leave, but turns round to Tom and says, "The Bible says, 'My Spirit shall not always strive with man." Tom appears quite indifferent, but God who knows how to drive "a nail in a sure place" has started one into Tom's conscience by one short sentence from His own Word.
"Chapter two takes us to a nearby city where Tom is going to have an evening of pleasure. Just before entering the "Alhambra," Tom is suddenly accosted by an unknown man who thrusts a piece of paper into his hand. Our young miner glances at it. Two or three verses of Scripture are printed on it, but only one of them stands out before his eye: it is, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man." The divine hand struck another blow on the head of the nail. Tom jokingly hands the piece of paper in at the theater as though it were an admission ticket; it is promptly returned to him with a laugh and, "This won't admit here!" "No," replies Tom with a sudden burst of gravity, "perhaps it will admit to a better place.”
Chapter three shows us our young friend stepping into his seaside home late that night. His parents have gone to bed, but on the mantel stands a printed notice of special gospel meetings to start two weeks later on Sunday. Tom's parents love the Lord and the preacher is to stay with them.
This son in the family has decided that he will be out of the house when the preacher is in, and in when the preacher is out. However, he decided to go over and read the printed notice of the meetings and see what it says. But lo, at the foot of the notice is a short verse from the Scriptures:
"My Spirit shall not always strive with man." This was another telling blow on the head of that nail.
Chapter four takes place the following Sunday and one week before the special meetings are to begin. Tom is found in the regular gospel service that evening, and according to his custom is reading the Bible while the preacher is speaking. He would read anywhere just so long as his mind was distracted from what was being said.
On this occasion Tom's Bible was opened near the beginning of Genesis, and as Tom read he came to chapter 6, verse 3. There it said: "My Spirit shall not always strive with man." Now the nail in his conscience was driven still farther in. It was a more effectual blow than anything the preacher could have said.
The fifth and last chapter conducts us to the following week. It is Wednesday and the village has been stirred by the number of people who have already been converted.
The special meetings have started and the preacher is staying with Tom's family. The young man, however, has proved himself very able in dodging this servant of the Lord still, he is miserable and cannot stay away from the meetings. He knows that the Spirit will not always strive with man, and he almost fears that he is beyond hope. This evening he is seated, with five other young men from the mine, where the gospel is being preached.
At the close of the meeting Tom and his friends started away and, after walking a short distance, stopped down by the harbor where a discussion about their souls broke out. The whole six were convicted sinners, so much so that some of them wanted to go back and speak to the preacher. Tom, his poor heart rebellious, said: "You may go back, and I'll go with you; but I'll not be converted.”
Just then, an earnest Christian who had observed them and followed them, stepped up and invited them all to return to the hall. And what happened when they got back? Just what always happens when convicted sinners want to know what to do to be saved. One by one they came to the Lord Jesus.
Tom believed also and confessed the Savior that very night. He proved in his case that, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God path raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Rom. 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9). Tom walked out of the hall that night a saved man, and so did his five companions.
For the rest of the preacher's stay Tom dropped his clever little game of hide-and-seek, and managed to be in when the preacher was in. He had plenty of time to be in, for the mines remained closed. He agreed with others that it was for their good that they were not working at that time.
Now, reader, what about your soul? Are you saved? Remember that God has said, "My Spirit shall not always strive with man.”
There are many, many souls in a lost eternity because they refused to heed the Spirit's strivings. Stories may be multiplied of those who, after refusing to own themselves lost sinners before God and accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior, were cut off suddenly and died in their sins. God is speaking to you today. Why resist His tender pleadings? He waits to bless you; will you let Him?