A Near Miss
A captain nearly misses the opportunity to share Christ with a young and supposedly wild young lieutenant.
Mr. Cooper was a young, careless and somewhat wild young officer. But inside he was longing for some real Christian to speak to him about his spiritual need. Because of this, he exchanged from one regiment into another, knowing that in the latter was a captain who was well known as an earnest Christian, and Cooper thought that, if he got near him, the captain would be sure to speak to him about such an important subject.Cooper thought that, if he got near him, the captain would be sure to speak to him about such an important subject.
The two officers had adjoining rooms in the barracks which they sometimes used to change into their uniforms before going on parade, and, while so doing, would often run in and out of each other’s rooms carrying on a conversation, but the captain never brought up the subject of Christ. One day, the young lieutenant decided to force the matter, and he placed an open Bible on his table where it would be seen. The captain soon came in and, seeing the Bible, said, “Hey! I didn’t know you went in for that kind of thing.” “I don’t,” replied the young officer, “but I would like to.” That opened up the way for a heart-to-heart talk, through which the young officer definitely accepted Christ as his Saviour, bringing joy to the captain’s heart. But, mixed with his gladness, I think there must have been a sense of rebuke that he had not seen the soul ready to be won. He had almost missed the low-hanging fruit.
Gospel Story 006 adapted from Hand-Gathered Fruit
