One summer while touring England I went with a party of young friends to visit a little village. It was of much historical interest as having been the scene of some of the battles in the Wars of the Roses. Maybe battles were fought there, but no traces of war can now be seen; the soft turf and grazing cattle forbid the thought of bloodshed, or the clash of arms.
While my party was climbing the ruins and exploring the moat, which I already knew well from previous visits, I turned my steps toward some cottages, asking my God and Father to give His child a message of peace to some heart there The village lay bathed in sunlight, and the inhabitants surely knew little of the strain, and hurry, and bustle of life; for not a soul was to be seen, or a sound to be heard in the quiet street. I knocked at a door which stood ajar, and it was immediately opened by a bright-looking woman.
I think I can see her now, as she stood before me leaning upon her stick, her sweet old face furrowed with wrinkles and surrounded by a snowy cap tied under her chin. Her cotton gown was just down to her ankles, covered by a clean white apron, and the little time-honored three-cornered shawl pinned over her shoulders.
A look of surprise came into her face as she saw a stranger at the door, but she responded to my "Good morning" with a low curtsy and said, with a smile "Will you please walk in?" Wiping a chair, upon which there was not a speck of dust, she placed it for me, and then seated herself opposite in the chimney corner.
After a little friendly chat, during which she told me she was over eighty, I said, "May I ask you if you know the Lord Jesus Christ?" Without a moment's hesitation she clasped her hands together, and looking up, said, with deep earnestness, "I love His blessed name!"
The answer came so unexpectedly, it was so different from what one often receives in reply to such a question, that it thrilled me with delight. "Oh, I am so glad," I said; "then He is your Savior, and your sins are forgiven! "
The brightness faded from her face, and slowly she replied, "Why, no, I should not like to say that."
"Not saved?" I said. "And yet you love His blessed name! Why, my friend, how is that?"
"I'm waiting for a sign. My mother had a sign afore she died. She saw the Savior hanging on the cross right against the foot of the bed. He held out His arms to her, and said, 'Come unto Me.' Then she felt very happy, and she knew she was all right. And I'm looking to have such a sight when my time comes."
I confess I was disappointed. To think that this poor old dear had been taught by the Spirit of God to believe in and to love the Lord, and yet she did not know that "he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." John 3:3636He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:36).
"You are making a great mistake, my dear old friend," I said. "Never, from beginning to end of the Bible, will you find that God promises you a sign."
"Why, don't He, now? Well, I'm no scholar."
"Let me tell you what He does say. Shall I?"
"If you please."
"Well, first of all, will you tell me what sort of people Jesus died for?"
"Why," she replied quickly, "of course He died for good people."
"Did He?" I said. "My Bible does not say so. Think again."
"Well there, I can't find it in my mind to tell you."
So I took my little Testament, and read very slowly and distinctly from Romans 5:88But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). "God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
I read it twice, and on looking up the second time, was surprised to see the tears coursing down the dear old lady's cheeks. Oh, the power of God's Word! "Well," I said, "now what sort of people did Jesus die for?"
She did not speak; her feelings choked her, and I waited anxiously for her answer. At last it came, and it was worth waiting for. "Well, there I never heard the like o' that. Why, it says He died for sinners, and I'm a sinner! He must ha' died for me."
"Of course He did. How glad I am you know it," I replied.
"And to think I should never ha' knowed it afore! I do love His blessed name!"
Only those who are privileged to carry God's precious message of love, and often have to tell it to deaf ears and dull hearts, know the joy of seeing it received and believed in with such childlike simplicity. And if it be joy to the messenger, what must it be to the Master! He sees of the fruit of the "travail of His soul, and is satisfied."
Reader, have you satisfied the heart of the Savior-God?
I found afterward that my old lady had long known and loved the Lord Jesus. He was her joy and comfort. But one thing was wrong. She knew she was not what a holy God could call good. Still she hoped to become better, and that at the end God would forgive her. But there was no rest for her heart in this. How could there be? Suppose she never got "good enough" for God. No wonder she could not say she was saved. But God saw her heart's deep need, and His light from heaven had flashed in upon her soul. By faith she saw that the One she loved and trusted had made Himself chargeable with her eternal salvation. Now for the first time she knew that, in glory, the Man Christ Jesus answers to God for everything that is against the sinner who trusts Him.
That is what the old lady now saw for the first time, and from that moment she never doubted her salvation again.