A SICK soldier, whose suffering was so great that he often wished he were dead, being asked, “How are you to escape everlasting pain?” replied:
“I am praying to God and striving to do my duty as well as I can.”
“What are you praying for?” I asked. “For the pardon of my sins.”
“But now, if your wife were offering you a cup of tea which she had prepared for you, what would be your duty?”
“To take it from her, surely.”
“Do you think that God is offering you anything?”
“O yes, sir! I think He is offering pardon to all, through Jesus Christ.”
“What is your duty, then?”
“Ah, sir,” he said with much feeling, “I ought to accept it!”
“And yet you keep asking Him for what He offers, instead of taking it at once! But now, tell me what you really require in order to be this moment a pardoned man.”
“I only want faith in Jesus,” was his answer.
“Come, then, at once to Jesus. Receive Him as your Saviour; and in Him you will find all that you need for time and eternity.”
ML 03/12/1916