Part 2
You remember I told you last week how Emily, while taking the damsons from the bottle, spilled the juice on her dress and in trying to wash out the stain, got very wet and cold; so you will not be surprised when I tell you that she took a severe cold, and for some time was very ill indeed. She was so ill that for some days the doctor feared she would not recover, and you can imagine how distressed and frightened her parents and brother and sister were. But how do you suppose the little girl felt herself? She knew well enough what had brought on the illness which was causing so much trouble, and she knew, too, that she had sinned against God, as well as against her parents. As the fever got worse, her head was too confused to let her think clearly, and all she could feel was as if a great eye was looking at her; whichever way she turned the eye was there, until at times she would scream out with fear. For nine days poor Emily lay very ill, but the Lord in His goodness, spared her life, and on the ninth day she fell into a long, peaceful sleep. When she awoke she was very weak, but the fever was gone, and from that day, she began to recover. As soon as she was able she confessed to her mother all the naughty things she had done. She ended up by saying, “I thought God would take no notice of my sin. I thought He was not looking at me when I was stealing in the dark, but I was much mistaken; His eye was upon me all the time, and now He has made me feel His anger, but oh! how good of Him not to send me to hell. I might have died, and then where would I have gone?” Then Emily’s mother talked to her of God’s love, and how He has promised to forgive those who confess their sins to Him. Emily did not talk any more that day, as she was still very weak, but a few days afterward she said to her mother, “I know now that God has forgiven me, even though I have been such a naughty child, and I love Him very much, and I want to please Him.”
“He has forgiven you, I have no doubt,” said her mother, “but can you tell me why God has forgiven you? Did He forgive you because you were sorry for your sins?”
“No,” said Emily, “my being sorry was no goodness of mine. I should never have been sorry if God had not made me so.”
“Why then are you sure God has forgiven you,” said her mother.
“Because,” answered the little girl, “I know that the Lord Jesus Christ has died for me. He never did anything wrong, but he bore the punishment of my sins; I understand this now, but I never did before.”
When Emily was well enough, her father took her for a nice drive. How she enjoyed it after her long illness, you may guess! It was March when she took ill, and now it was the end of May. The fruit trees were in blossom, and the gardens full of spring flowers; and in the fields she saw young lambs with their mothers.
“O!” said Emily, “How sweet it all is! How pretty the wild flowers are, and there is a perfectly white lamb, not a spot about it.”
“Who is compared in the Bible to a lamb without blemish, and without spot?” asked her father.
“Why,” said Emily, “mother and I were talking about that. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lamb without spot, who died for our sins.” Her father smiled, and taking out a little Bible, he read these words, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, * * but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” While he was reading. the carriage had come to an exceedingly shady and beautiful wood. Primroses and violets and other sweet flowers grew along the edge, but what pleased Emily most, was the soft, gentle cooing of two wood pigeons or doves, which she saw sitting on the branch of a tree.
“How soft and pretty they are,” she exclaimed, “but the noise of the wheels has frightened them away.” Then her father reminded her of how the Holy Spirit came down like a dove, and abode upon the Lord Jesus and told her that He has been promised to all those who believe, that He might dwell in their hearts and make them as gentle and harmless as a little dove, for the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness.” (Gal. 5:2222But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (Galatians 5:22).)
Little Emily soon got quite well and through the grace of God, was quite a different child from what she had been before, for the love of God was now in her heart, and she feared to grieve that One “who loved her and gave Himself for her.”
Messages of God’s Love 8/10/1913