I would like to be a Christian too, mother; same as Kitty, but I’m afraid I might profess without being real.”
Binnie had come home from the Sunday evening meeting, which had been an unusually solemn one, and after sitting thoughtfully in the parlor beside his mother and sister, he broke out in the words quoted above. Kitty had been converted a few weeks before, and was very happy. Their mother had known the Lord, and followed Him for many years, and their father had gone to heaven. Binnie was the only one of the little circle yet unsaved, and he felt his position very keenly. He was an obedient, gentle boy, a real comfort to his dear mother, yet a burden on her heart, because unconverted to God.
Binnie knew quite well that he was a sinner, and needed a Saviour, but he feared, as he said, lest he might profess to be Christ’s and then go back to the world. These fears were strengthened by the fact that several boys of his own age and acquaintance, who had professed conversion some time before, seemed to be worse than ever. The devil uses such cases to stumble and hinder those who are truly seeking after the way of life.
Binnie’s mother tried to show him clearly from God’s Word that all who trust Christ are “kept” as well as saved (Rom. 1:16 by “the power of God” (1 Peter 1:66Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: (1 Peter 1:6)). He seemed to grasp the meaning of that “kept.” He said,
“That’s just what I need. I have been anxious many a time at nights, but when I thought of trusting myself to Jesus, and believing His Word, the thought came upon me—what about tomorrow? And when I remembered that I had to go to school, and be there amid so much temptation, I thought it was no use, I could never stand it.”
“But you see, Binnie, dear,” said the mother, “it is not your strength, but God’s, and the question is, will His power be sufficient to keep you cleaving to the Lord, and following Him?”
“Yes, I see that now,” said Binnie, and the cloud passed from his brow.
That was the night of Binnie’s conversion. He trusted himself to Jesus, for today, tomorrow, and all along, and he has proved that Jesus is both able to save and keep. He. has often been tempted by wicked boys to leave the “paths of righteousness,” and to sin against God, but in these moments of trial, Binnie has trusted the Lord, and sought to obey His Word, which says,
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not,” (Prov. 1:1010My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. (Proverbs 1:10)), and it has preserved him and kept him.
My dear boys and girls, some of you may be in the same difficulty as Binnie—afraid to face tomorrow. But you need not. Jesus is a daily Saviour and Keeper for all who trust Him. He saves from an eternal hell, once and forever, the moment you believe on Him; and from daily temptation and every evil thing day by day, on to the gate of heaven.
ML 08/21/1938