ROBERT was a merry, bright-eyed boy with rosy cheeks like cherries. His great difficulty was to be obedient, and especially when told to sit still.
One day a gentleman offered him a quarter if he would remain perfectly quiet for fifteen minutes; but, would you believe it? though the prize was held up before his eyes, Robert could not rest. There was a power within him which, try as he would, set his arms and legs and his tongue in motion. So as Robert failed to keep still he lost the reward.
But suppose restless Robert, looking at the gentleman said to himself, “He looks smiling and kind; I will ask him to give me the money.” Then the reward would not be of works but of grace. It would not be of Robert’s keeping still, but of the gentleman’s giving. And so it happened, for, seeing that Robert had lost the prize by his restlessness, his kind friend gave it to the little boy because he loved him.
Now, God holds out a priceless reward for lost sinners, young or old. How is it to be had? What are the conditions? If by works then you must do all that He bids you, and not transgress the least of His commandments. Robert lost his reward by not sitting still for one quarter of an hour, and if you have ever had one wicked thought, or said one wicked word, or done one wicked thing you have already lost heaven. If your mother bade you go upstairs, and you went with a sulky feeling, if your sister or brother wanted your book or ball and you were too selfish to let them have it, then you have broken the commandments of God, and upon the ground of works you have lost the reward. Obedience must be perfect or the prize forfeited.
We commit sin because sin is in us; and this shows that we are without strength to keep God’s commandments. Many foolish people will try to win the prize, although they have broken the commandments. Also there are many who think they are better than others, and worthy of heaven.
But will you be wise? Robert knew that he did not deserve the money, so he began to think whether his friend, who was smiling and kind, would not give it to him. He looked trustingly at his friend, and the money was in his hands at once!
Now, dear children, there is One who is a Friend above all others. His heart is most kind, most dear, and He loves you. It is Jesus, the beloved Son of God, who showed God’s love and His own to sinners, old and young, by coming into the world and suffering for us upon the cross, so that whosoever believes in Him may have the prize. As by faith you look up into the loving face of Jesus you will learn God’s willingness to bless you, and you will rejoice in the possession of the reward which comes to us by grace, and not by works — by the gift of God and not by our doings.
ML-07/17/1960