A Young man of thirty-five was prospecting for gold on the banks of the river, Magdalena, in Colombia, South America, when an Indian attacked him. He carried a formidable weapon, a poisoned knife, and with this he struck at the young man.
The young man deflected the knife with his whip, so that the blow was not fatal, but his right arm was ripped open. There was no doctor, or, for the matter of that, even a white man within hundreds of miles. The young man with difficulty got back to his hut. With his left hand he injected anti-tetanus serum into himself, and poured whiskey over the wound in lieu of iodine.
A native woman helped to bandage the arm.
The knife which struck him was tipped with native poison, which spread all over his body. It was a grim fight between life and death. For weeks he was delirious. At last he woke to consciousness, and when able to move, set out for civilization and the effort to save his right arm.
Five thousand miles he traveled to Plymouth in his earnest desire to be healed. We know no more of him, but sincerely trust he was successful in his search.
We greatly admire the courage and earnestness of the young man. We think he took a very admirable course. But what we have related gave us to think very seriously. Are there not multitudes bitten by the terrible virus of sin, their whole beings poisoned by self-love and self-will, and leaving God right out of their calculations?
If there is one sinister feature that is more serious than another, it is the deadly indifference to God and His claims, to sin and its results, to death, to heaven and hell that marks so-called Christian lands.
If you happen to be indifferent to these things, may we, entreat you to wake up before it is too late, before the current that will sweep you over the falls of time into the ocean of eternity reaches you? The end will assuredly come. Death is the wages of sin, and the acid test of a man's life. A man is making his eternity every day of his life.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Gal. 6. 7). How solemn it is to read the words, " He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still " (Rev. 22. 11). To have your condition fixed for all eternity, without hope of alteration, or cessation, is indeed alarming, if unsaved.
But if you are concerned about your sins, if you realize that you are not fit for God's holy presence, there is, thank God, a road back to God for the vilest sinner. The Lord Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, veiled His essential glory, stooped to man's estate, and died " the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God " (1 Peter 3. 18). He said, " I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me " (John 14. 6); and " Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out " (John 6. 37).
There is the way of blessing for you, and the only way. You need forgiveness and salvation, and these priceless gifts can only be had from the Savior of sinners Come, just as you are, to the Lord. He will receive you. Tens of thousands have done so, and found Him as good as His word without one exception.