“JOHNNY, my boy,” said a poor sick woman lying upon her bed, “run and get a pound of candles. We have none in the house.”
“All right, Mother"; and away sped the boy, money in hand, to do his mother’s bidding.
He was a boy who had been taught implicit obedience; and six months ago, when his father lay dying, he had said “Johnny, my boy, when I am gone, obey Mother. The boy who obeys a good mother will early learn to obey a gracious God.”
Johnny remembered his father’s words. But this evening, when he had bought his candles, he forgot to hurry home, for seeing a large hall lighted up, and crowds of people entering, Johnny entered too, and in a few minutes was charmed especially with the preaching by a missionary from India and two native converts by his side. John’s eyes opened wide, and his mouth too, and all he could wish was that he had his one large fat black rabbit to give to the man who came around, for those dear black men pleaded so hard for help. When John heard the white missionary say something about thirty-fold or sixty-fold, he decided that he might put the candles on the plate. They were wrapped up in a piece of greasy brown paper tied around the middle. But so alarmed was Johnny at the look of astonishment on the collector’s face when he had done it, that he fled from the building.
“Why, Johnny, where have you been?” asked his mother.
“Been? To a missionary meeting, Mother; that’s what they called it, and the candles are still there, and likely as not you’ll have thirty pounds here in the morning.”
Mrs. Price smiled. She understood it all, and although it meant lying there all night without any light, and the bit of coal had burned to a cinder, yet, as she listened to the little fellow’s glowing account of the meeting, and heard him plead with her to let him take his black rabbit to the missionary man in the morning, who had told all the people where to go if they had anything to give to him, she praised God for the real missionary spirit which had then and there entered into her boy’s heart. And it never left him.
In the morning there was no peace with Johnny until black “Bunny” was packed in an old basket. But Johnny took care not to let his mother see the tears which fell on his favorite’s shiny coat as he stroked it, as he thought, for the last time, and said: “Now, Bunny dear, make the most of yourself, and sell for all you can, that the poor heathen may hear about Jesus.”
Black “Bunny” was soon in the missionary’s home, but she was soon back again, accompanied by two white rabbits. The missionary brought them all three himself on purpose to see Johnny. There was also the lady with him who had bought the rabbit, on the condition that while the money went to the heathen, the rabbit should be returned to Johnny with a pair of her own white ones. She had brought something else too in the carriage—a basket of groceries and, of course, several pounds of candles. Johnny was so excited at the sight of the carriage that he jumped up from eating his bread and jam, and shouted out: “Look, Mother! Here’s the thirty-fold coming in a carriage. Oh! how good of God! how good of God!”
The rich lady kept her eye upon Johnny Price, and when she learned of his devotion to his mother, of his daily toil to keep the house clean while her weary fingers, when able, did the sewing to get the food, and found how respected he was as an errand boy, and knew that he must continually make many little sacrifices to put pennies into the missionary box, she sent him to school. When he finished school, he became a missionary. The last word we had of him was that he was still in a foreign land, telling the natives of the Saviour’s love. His mother has gone to that “Better Land,” to be forever with Jesus, the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.
ML-03/18/1962