NELLIE was resting by the bank of a shining brook near her home one lovely Sunday morning, and looking very sad. As the tears rolled down her cheeks, the cause of her sorrow was explained by her desires contained in these words, "I wish I could be a Christian”
What had made Nellie feel so unhappy on this bright Sunday morning? Well, I will tell you. She had been to hear a young missionary preach on behalf of the negroes, and, as she listened to his eloquent pleading, not only for the poor heathen, but also for the souls of those who then listened, to him, poor Nellie felt very sad, and the bitter tears would come into her eyes, and the sobs would make themselves heard, as she felt that she was just as bad as the poor black children across the sea, for she, too, was not saved. And so after the preaching she slipped away from her friends and ran down to the brook, where she might be alone and sob out the misery of her troubled young heart unseen. But was she unseen? Ah, no! My readers know very well that there is One who always sees us. God was looking down on Nellie, and He was going to give her the desires of her heart, though she would have to learn a good many things first.
The one friend to whom Nellie found courage to tell her trouble only laughed at her.
The young missionary soon left the village, without preaching again, and Nellie's sorrow, after a time, wore off. But she never forgot that she was lost, that if she died as she was she could not go to heaven. She tried to forget this solemn truth, but in vain; when she was awake at night she again remembered it, even if she had forgotten it during the day, and so she went on for a long time.
She then tried to be good, thinking if she could only succeed she should be all right; but having a quick temper, Nellie seemed to get worse instead of better, till at last she felt that she was too bad ever to be a Christian at all. She did not know that the Lord Jesus has power to save all who come to Him. And, indeed, when she heard preachers say," Come to Jesus," she used to think to herself, "How can I go? I wish I only knew how—I would walk anywhere if He were down here now; why don't they tell us how to come?”
For years Nellie was seeking at times how to be saved, and none of those whom she heard preach told the simple, plain way of salvation. But at last one preacher told his hearers to take their difficulties to God in prayer. Here was something Nellie could understand; and she went home, took her difficulties to God in prayer; then soon after she was led to read the precious verse in Matt. 1, "They shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." That was what she wanted. She read on and on through the New Testament, and there, to her surprise and joy, she found that God had sent His own Son to die, to put away the sins of all who believe on Him. She learned, too, that in order to come to Jesus she did not require to go anywhere; coming to Him meant believing Him with all her heart, and telling Him so. She also found that she could speak to Him just where she was, and He would hear her.
It was so delightful to Nellie to find that she might have all her sins washed away and be brought to God, that at first she hardly dared believe it, but before long she did; and I will tell you what helped her very much—she learned by heart several verses, and, amongst others, these words of Jesus, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)) Whenever she began to feel sad she would repeat them over to herself, and the dark thoughts soon went.
So at last Nellie knew that she was saved, because God's word said so.
And who was happier than Nellie then? Her friends soon observed the change, and, to her great delight, in a short time her sister also was saved. Before long Nellie was taken very ill, but she was very happy; she was so glad to think that perhaps she might soon see Jesus, who had saved her.
One day during her illness the doctor who had been to see her looked very grave, and, calling her friends out of the room for a minute, told them that Nellie had only a short time to live. Great was their surprise at the happy smile with which she received the news. Ah, Nellie belonged now to Jesus, who had been right down into death and the grave; and He had made even that bright with His own love, and there was no terror left for His own loved ones. But, contrary to the fears of all, she recovered, and lives now with one desire—to please the Lord Jesus.
Dear children, will not you, too, trust the Saviour, and live for Him? L. T.