Sailor Jack was a careless, indifferent fellow, but he had a brother, Tom, who was an earnest Christian.
“I suppose, Tom,” said Jack one day, “that if I should be wrecked, and a ship were to heave in sight and take me off, you’d call it merciful providence. But I say these things happen just as other things happen—that is, by mere chance.”
Soon after Jack went to sea again. God had His eye on him and hadn’t forgotten his unbelieving words. They had been out on the ocean for some days when a great storm arose and the ship was completely wrecked. Jack and his mates drifted about on the ocean for three days and almost deaired of ever being saved. The infidel words he had spoken came back to him and he wondered if God had cast him off forever. Then a ship appeared; he and his companions were picked up and saved.
“Ah, Tom,” said Jack to his brother when he got back home, “when that ship hove in sight, the words I said to you came back to me like a clap of thunder. I was thankful to own that God’s hand was in the matter of saving my life. Now I’m going to do the fair thing by Him. I trust Christ as my Saviour now and will seek to serve Him the rest of my days.”
“God, who is rich in mercy...
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
ML-01/14/1979