WHEN Edith was laid upon a sick bed she said, “Mother, can you spare me to go to Jesus?”
“Yes, dear,” replied her mother, “if the Lord wants you. But, my child, He will not have anyone in glory with Him whose sins are not washed away.”
“Yes, mother,” said Edith, “but I have been to Jesus, and asked Him to wash away my sins in His blood.”
“And what did He say to you, my child?”
“You know it is written in the bible, mother, that, if we want anything when we ask for it, we are to believe that we receive it, and we shall have it.” (Mark 11:2424Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. (Mark 11:24).) So Edith took God’s word, just as He says it; she believed, and her sins were washed away.
“When did you first feel you were a sinner?” asked her mother.
“A long time ago, when you were ill. I wanted Lizzie to pray for me, but she said she did not know what to say; so I asked God myself, and He made me happy.”
Her father, who had earnestly prayed that he might receive an assurance from Edith’s own lips that she had passed from death unto life, asked her what was the ground of her faith?
“God’s word gives me confidence, father. I have believed what Jesus did for me, a naughty sinner, by shedding His blood upon the cross, and His word says, ‘He that believeth shall be saved,’ and ‘hath everlasting life.’”
When too ill to speak, little Edith would point with her finger to this sweet passage: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” (Rev. 1:55And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:5).) But one day Satan, the enemy of souls, tried her very much. She told us that he brought a great black cloud over her, telling her that God was dealing hardly with her. Poor little Edith was miserable. However, the Lord brought joy to her again, and though amidst great suffering, she could say, “All is bright now; the clouds are all gone. Jesus! Jesus! Thank Him! Thank Him! Clean! Clean!” This was her last day on earth.