Perhaps the school you go to is much bigger than this one. When I was a little boy, I went to Hopewell Avenue School, in Ottawa, Canada, and it was much bigger than the one in our picture. This school is on the Island of Bermuda, a beautiful island in the Atlantic Ocean.
I shall never forget the happy time we spent on that Island, and of the visits made to the different schools. One day I was asked to speak to the children at the “Glebe” school, and that is where I met “Thomas.”
The boys and girls listened quietly while I told them about Canada, and listened too while I told them about heaven, and of the Lord Jesus who came down from heaven to die for sinners. Some of the boys and girls had accepted Jesus as their own Saviour, and the headmistress too was a bright and happy Christian. When the little talk was over, I had a gift in my pocket which I wanted to give to someone. My text had been, “The gift of God is eternal life,” and I wanted them to see how simple it was to take a gift. I looked over the crowd of children and wondered how I would pick out someone to give my little gift to. Suddenly I thought of a plan, and I asked, “Is there anyone here with the name of Tom?”
The boys all looked at one another, and to my surprise, there was not one lad in the school with the name of Tom. I was almost ready to try another name when I heard, “My name is Thomas, sir.” There stood one of the teachers! He was much bigger than I am, and he was grinning a bit as if he didn’t quite know whether I meant just boys or teachers too! Do you think he should have received the gift? Of course. His name was Thomas and that was all he needed, so he came forward to the platform while the children all clapped and cheered!
Perhaps your name isn’t Tom, or Ruth, or Peter, or Mabel. But God says that your name is Sinner. And God offers His precious gift of eternal life to anyone with the name of Sinner. Would you stand and say, “My name is Sinner, and I want to accept Jesus as my Saviour?” If you will really do that, God will give to you the gift of eternal life, and the forgiveness of all your sins.
ML 06/24/1951