THESE were the words addressed to a surgeon by a poor young girl, the victim of a terrible accident, whom they had just carried into a hospital ward. After the surgeon had examined into the nature and extent of the injury, she again asked him in a weak, but calm voice:
“Can I live, sir? shall I get well?”
“I shall not hide the truth from you,” he said to her, “the injury is too serious, it is impossible.”
Fortunately, she was prepared for it, and solemn as these words are, she heard them without being troubled. Although life was nearly extinct, she still had enough strength to raise her hands towards heaven saying:
“Blessed be God, that this did not happen yesterday!”
Soon afterwards she passed from this world into the presence of Jesus in the paradise of God.
I must now explain her last words: Having been invited the evening before to attend a meeting held for the purpose of announcing the gospel of the grace of God to sinners, she had only come there yielding to the pressing solicitations of the person who had invited her. The Word of God reached her conscience; her sins, great and numerous, stood out before her. Bitter tears of repentance flowed from her eyes. She had just heard of the love of Jesus, who had come down from heaven to save sinners, as well as the work of grace that He had accomplished in shedding His blood on the cross to expiate sin. She believed and found peace. The next day the accident happened, the result of which we have seen.
And you, my dear reader, are you ready? If death presented himself at this moment before you, would he be for you the king of terrors? Would he introduce you into the presence of a God with whom you cannot say that you are reconciled; or could you receive him with the joyful certainty that you were going to be with the Saviour who loves you? The future beyond death, is it for you the dark and terrible unknown; or is it the radiant light in the face of Him who has saved you? If you cannot say with assurance, I know Him whom I have believed: O! do not wait a moment, do not rest until you can join in with all your heart with these words:
ML 10/29/1922