I ASK my young friends to look out in their Bibles the words which are at the head of this paper. They occur in the twentieth verse of the second chapter of Galatians.
In a meeting specially held for the young, the speaker was anxious to find out how far the children felt that they really stood in need of the Lord Jesus; so he asked the following question: “Have you anything to give God, which will make you fit for heaven?”
There was a pause, when a little boy, named Willie, said, “A good heart, sir.”
“But have any of us good hearts as we were born?” said the speaker.
Another dear little fellow quickly replied, “No, sir, there is none good.”
Yes, my boys and girls, that is true; for God says in His word, “There is none righteous, no, not one . . . there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Rom. 3:10, 1210As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: (Romans 3:10)
12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:12).) God also tells us, in Jeremiah 17:9,9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” and He it is who alone knows how bad we are. So you see, dear children, we have nothing to give to God. We have to cry out to Him like David did in the eighty-sixth Psalm, “I am poor and needy.”
Now, although we have nothing to give to God, He has something to give us. I will tell you what a dear child once wrote in a letter, that you may see what she thought of God’s gift. She says: “What a precious and glorious truth that God loves us! Yes, I often think how much the Saviour loves us. He gave a most costly price to redeem us—not thousands of gold and silver; not labor and toil merely; not pains and suffering only—but Himself.” (1 Tim. 2:66Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (1 Timothy 2:6); 1 Pet. 1:18, 1918Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18‑19).)
Now can you say, “He loved me and gave Himself for me?” If not, may you be led at once to receive His word; for “To as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the children of God, even to those who believe on His name.” Little Willie learned, before he left the meeting, that he had nothing good to offer to God, but was led by the Holy Spirit to accept God’s gift through faith in His word, and went home quite happy.
ML 08/20/1916