A Praying Sister. A Living Saviour. A Sinner Saved.
LOOKING back a few years, in one of the open spaces of London, week after week, a middle-aged man might have been seen with book in hand, telling others of the Saviour who had done so much for him, not only in breaking the bonds of sin which once enslaved him, but also of the peace and joy now imparted to him. As one among many he longed for others to know the blessedness there is in Christ as Saviour, for those led astray, the dupes of Satan.
On one of those occasions the subject of our story comes before us. A stranger in London and to London, passing by and seeing the crowd, he stayed to listen to the preacher above referred to. He seemed to be unnoticed by anyone. The preacher, after putting in his usual way the gospel before his hearers, sought to impress upon them the wisdom of decision for Christ before that time when the closed door would shut out forever the foolish from the wise. The appeal over, the preacher set off on his homeward road, sustained by the thought that whatever its effect upon the hearers, the preaching of Christ and His work was surely a sweet savor to God, when suddenly the voice of this stranger fell upon his ears in a way that told how the word of God had reached his heart. It may have been that at this very time the stranger’s sister was asking God on his behalf. Be that as it may, as the light of the gospel shone in upon his soul, it was now the Saviour and the sister that filled his mind. What a Saviour! and what a sister! A sister of whom the preacher had not even heard; whose love had been lingering over her brother; a Saviour that had long been endeared to the preacher, now becoming precious to this stranger! How this newly-saved soul longed to convey to his sister at once that her Saviour was now his Saviour! Oh! how simple, how sweet, how divinely real, are the ways of God in bringing souls out of darkness into light!
The preacher never forgot that night nor the lamppost where that strong, intelligent man, by the light of the street lamp, sought from the Bible the truth that met his case. From a full heart he gave expression to his feelings thus: “My sister, my sister, her letters, her love!” That night he had seen, as never before, his sister among the wise, and himself drifting on with the crowd of careless souls towards eternity without a Saviour. The thought was unbearable. What could He do? Himself a sinner in his sins—unchanged, unconverted, thinking himself as good as others until he heard the gospel that night! It may be asked, What was it that so changed all that night? The answer is, It was Christ. God had been commending to this poor sinner the love that gave up Jesus to die for his sins. The Saviour had been uplifted as the One who had suffered for his sins—and as the Israelites bitten of old looked to the uplifted brazen serpent and lived, so now faith in Christ on the tree brought to him and for him the power, the love, the righteousness of God meeting his every need as a sinner.
Let me now turn to the reader. Have you a sister, a mother, or brother still praying for you? What is the reason of all this? There can be but one answer, and that answer is love! They love you, because they know God’s love to them. They have known and believed the love that God hath to us. Then, why is it, let me ask, that all this is slighted by you? Having been through it all, and none more deluded or deceived than myself, I can answer, that the enemy of our souls is ever seeking to harden the heart against all these entreaties of divine love, that he may rule over you now to the dishonor of God and the ruin and death of your immortal soul.
Why should the tempter rule
In that dear soul of thine,
Deceiving, as he leads along
The precipice of time?
Another step may prove
The danger thou art in,
And thy poor Christless soul may sink
Beneath thy load of sin.
You dare not look at death,
Or think of meeting God,
While you in unbelief reject
The Saviour’s precious blood.
The death of God’s dear Son,
For such as you and me,
From heaven’s highest throne proclaims
Salvation full and free.
No longer risk thy soul,
This is salvation’s day;
Our God invites whoever will,
And none are turned away.