During World War 1 soldiers were being moved about pretty rapidly. In a town in the south of France a regiment had halted briefly for a period of rest. A Bible colporteur was there too, carrying on his work of distributing and selling small Bibles. He was surrounded by a group of soldiers, among them a young man of open and intelligent countenance. This soldier stepped forward, and said to the colporteur in a cordial manner, that he was touched by his serious and affectionate exhortations. "They have convinced me," he added, "of my need of possessing the Word of God. But, oh!" he continued with a deep sigh, "I have not a cent to purchase it with.”
"That need not matter," the colporteur at once replied. "If you have such a desire to possess God's Word I shall not allow you to go away without giving you one, even though I pay for it myself.”
Taking a small book from his packet, the Christian handed it with pleasure to the soldier. But to his surprise and sorrow, scarcely had the rogue got possession of the book, when he burst into a loud laugh. "You are done for, my fine fellow!" he cried. "I am jester Number One, of the regiment. It is plain as the nose on your face that I am not a bad hand at fooling you. When I am dead, do you see, my dear friend,—”
Here the colporteur interrupted him by exclaiming:... "After death, poor miserable man, the judgment will follow; and what a judgment!... 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.'" Matt. 25:4141Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25:41).
For a moment the young soldier appeared to be silenced; but his levity quickly returned, and he called out to the others: "I verily believe that the old boy wants to insult me.”
"Give me back the book," exclaimed the colporteur with earnestness.
"Oh, no, old fellow," replied the soldier. "Whatever was given was given willingly, so I shall keep it. It may be of use to me. Isn't this what you wish? It will serve nicely to light my pipe. Much obliged to you!”
The young man departed hastily, though not before hearing this serious warning: "Take care what you are about, for 'it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.'" Heb. 10:3131It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31).
The poor colporteur went away, his heart heavy with deep sorrow and intense compassion for the young man for whom he cried in prayer to God: "Lord, pardon him! O God, cause Thy Word to penetrate into the depths of his conscience. Convert him—save him!”
After several months in which he continued to distribute his Bibles, our colporteur stopped in a small village and went in to an inn to rest. He had scarcely entered the house when he saw that the landlady, an elderly woman, was in deep distress. Our friend inquired sympathetically its cause, and she replied: "Only a few hours ago my son—the happiness of my life—was placed in the grave." Her voice failed in agonizing sobs.
"Do not grieve so, my good woman," said the colporteur. "Let me read to you a few lines out of a book which I never open without finding some comfort there.”
Then casting a hasty glance at the book, the poor woman dropped it on the floor in her astonishment. "No, this is not my precious book," she said. "Mine is torn. Forgive me.”
"Does your book resemble mine?" he asked. "And is it a legacy from your dear son?”
"Yes," she said, "and I praise God for it.”
She left the room, soon returning with a New Testament of the same version and size as the one the colporteur had. But it was not complete. Many pages had been torn out of it. The colporteur opened the little Bible and read: "Received from a Bible man in France. Despised at first, and badly misused, but afterward read, believed, and loved as the instrument of my salvation. J. L., fusileer of the 4th Company of the 6th regiment of the line.”
The colporteur remembered, after a little thought, the young mocker to whom he had given such a solemn warning of the judgment to come. And he remembered his earnest prayer for him. Now he could lift up his heart in praise to God, for giving him evidence from the young man's own mother that he had departed in peace. He had told her that, on the eve of battle, serious thoughts came into his mind. The words of the man whom he had tricked came back like a thunder-clap: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
"What if tomorrow I should fall into His hands!” he in an agony exclaimed.
This haunted him during the night, and as soon as it was light he took out the book to read it. What was his astonishment, when, instead of the threats which he expected to read in its pages, he found appeals such as: "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved!" John 3:1717For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:17).
This last verse deeply affected him, and he kept it in his heart as he faced the enemy, and received his death wound.
Though on the verge of the grave, the badly injured soldier recovered sufficiently to be sent home. Ere he breathed his last he rejoiced his mother's heart with the news and evidence of his eternal salvation. Even in her sorrow the bereaved mother was comforted in knowing that her boy had found rest and peace in the Savior's love.