In the wilderness of northern Canada where the great fir trees grow thick and the winds howl on winter nights, there were two clearings in the woods, about a mile apart. In the two clearings stood two log cabins. In the two cabins lived two nine-year-old boys, one named Jean and the other named Pierre. Jean’s mother and father were Christians, and Jean, too, had accepted the Lord Jesus as his own Saviour when he was very small. They read the Bible together each morning after breakfast and prayed around their big oak table. Pierre had only his father, as his mother had left years before. Pierre’s father had never asked the Lord Jesus to be his Saviour, and he would often come home drunk. As you can see, Pierre’s little home was not as happy as Jean’s. However, the two boys were friends, since there was no other family for miles around.
One afternoon in early spring, Jean walked the mile-long path through the woods to Pierre’s cabin. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. “Pierre?” he called, giving the door a little push. It opened, but no one was inside. So Jean thought he would just wait in the cabin for his friend to come home... it probably wouldn’t be long. The afternoon hours went by quickly as Jean played on the cabin floor. Finally, he looked up at the window and was surprised to see the sun already low behind the fir trees. The March wind blew hard through the cracks between the logs, and the boy shivered. When he pulled at the door he could feel the force of the wind push it wide open.
Jean stepped outside, wondering if he should walk home alone in the dusk. His father had often warned him against going out after dark alone. Cougars and lynx roamed that part of the woods looking for food. As he stood there deciding what to do he heard a rustling in the bushes at the edge of the clearing. He looked and saw two lean cougars pacing there... watching him! Tears of panic filled his eyes as he ran quickly back into the cabin and pushed the door shut behind him. However, to add to his terror, he found the door latch had loosened and the door would not close tightly. All he could do was to lean up against it and pray to his Saviour, the Lord Jesus, that He would save him from these wild animals.
As bad as poor Jean’s situation was, there is a worse danger in store for anyone who still has not accepted the Lord Jesus as their Saviour. That danger is an awful place called hell, where all who do not have their sins forgiven will spend eternity. Turn to the Saviour to have your sins forgiven right now — before it is too late!
Just down the path from where this was happening, Jean’s father was returning home from checking a trap line. Approaching the clearing of the first cabin, he thought he heard a boy crying. “That’s strange,” he thought, “why would Pierre’s father have left him alone?” He passed the clearing to continue on his way home when something made him go back... something was not right. Arriving once more at the clearing, Jean’s father gasped when he saw two hungry cougars, one circling the cabin and one with his paw on the door, ready to push it open with his powerful foreleg. The startled man grabbed his shotgun and aimed at the beast on the door. With one shot the cougar fell backward, dead. The other, confused and furious, ran circles around her mate and then leaped forward at Jean’s father. Again, a shot rang out through the woods, and the second cougar fell heavily against the man, knocking him down. But Jean’s father was not hurt, and he thanked the Lord Jesus for helping him to kill both animals with only two shots. Now, he rushed toward the cabin. His heart froze — there was his own son bursting through the doorway!
The next moment the man was hugging his own little boy as Jean’s arms wrapped around his father’s neck. Who can tell the thoughts in the father’s heart when he discovered that it was not Pierre, but his own Jean whom he had saved.
“Thank God I came,” he said. “Daddy, I knew you’d come,” his son replied, still trembling.
How wonderful is the faith and trust of a little child. May we have that kind of faith, too — the faith that calls upon God and waits for Him! Any who have put their trust in Him will never be disappointed.
Being just a child, Jean could not understand how much his father loved him. We, too, cannot understand how much God loves us. But we do know this much, He loves us so much He sent His only Son into this world to die to save us and bring us home to Himself. He is going to fill heaven with sons and daughters who have accepted His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as their Saviour. He wants us there so He might shower His love upon us for all eternity.
These are the last days in which the gospel will go forth. Night is coming quickly, and punishment is near for those who refuse God’s salvation. Satan, as a roaring lion, is going about seeking those he may devour. The Lord Jesus is still willing and able to save any who call to Him.
ML-06/02/1985