SOMEWHERE in one of the green fields that dot here and there the approaches to a big city, a group of young boys were playing ball. They played the game with all the youthful spirit and vigor that boys usually put into their favorite pastimes. It was the first half of the last inning and when the side was retired it was several runs ahead of the other. Victory seemed sure.
Then the other side went to bat for the last time and succeed in getting three men on bases. However, the last batter to face the opposing pitcher was a poor little lame boy. Alas, there seemed little hope of winning the game now that it was in the hands of so poor a batter!
It so happened, however, that another boy had been standing by and watching the game with interest. He was a stockily built lad, and seeing the odds against the poor little fellow standing timidly at the plate, he came forward and asked to be allowed to take his place. The other team, confident as well as sportsmanlike, gave their consent. So the game went on. The little fellow who had yielded his bat to his substitute lay down on the grass to watch. What was his joy and surprise when he saw his friend swing on a fast ball and send it soaring far out into the outfield over the heads of the fielders! Triumphantly the runners raced around the bases, and before the fielders could fire the ball home our friend had scored the winning run, amid the cheers of his comrades.
No sooner was the victory declared than the little lame boy who had given up his bat with great animation and declared he had won the game. “How come? they asked. Had he not been lying down doing nothing while his friend had gone to work and won the game? “Yes,” the little fellow persisted, “but he did it for me!” Of course he was opposed by the rest, but the little fellow claimed the victory as his own, because his substitute had won it for him, and the emphatic words, “He did it for me!” could not be denied.
Isn’t that what the Saviour has done in a more blessed and wonderful way? He saw the triumph of Satan, the victor, in this world of sin. Lovingly He looked down upon us, the beaten ones, and as our blessed Substitute He came to save. He took our place — that place of death and judgment; and by His own right hand and mighty arm He won the victory. Satan was defeated, sin atoned for, and salvation brought in, when Jesus died upon the cross.
Well might His people sing,
“His be the Victor’s name,
Who fought the fight alone:
Triumphant saints no honor claim,
His conquest was their own.”
Can you say, dear young friend, “He did it for me"? If not, decide for Christ today. Put your trust in Him, and you’ll be on the winning side.
How precious it is to God to see a child lay hold of the work of Christ by faith and embrace Christ with all the fervor of a warm young heart! Young folks sometimes die, and young folks need salvation. They need to be washed in the precious blood of Christ, or they will never go to heaven.
ML-10/16/1960