"Don't be frightened, Miss, when you go in; but you'll see a great change in Mrs. W.”
"Indeed! Is she worse, then?”
"She took ever so bad on Thursday, and the doctor says as she can't last long.”
"I'm sorry to hear that. Do you think she will know me? is she conscious?”
"I don't know; she hasn't spoken since this morning, and then she asked for you.”
This conversation took place at the door of Mrs. W.'s cottage, on a Sunday afternoon. Miss R., to whom the opening words were addressed, was a young disciple of the Lord Jesus, who had been in the habit of paying visits to Mrs. W., in order to read God's Word to this aged widow, who was crippled with rheumatism, and unable to go out to hear the Word preached.
The first time Miss R. entered this little cottage, she found its aged occupant not only in a sad state physically, but, alas! in great spiritual darkness.
The lonely woman had toiled long and hard during her life, and, like many others, had felt that with so much to do, she had no time to think about her soul. So year after year had passed, each day increasing the burden of her sins, which now, in old age, stood as a mighty barrier between her soul and God.
But she consoled herself with the thought, that she was not so bad as were many others; and she hoped, when her time came to die, that God in His mercy would take her to heaven. What a hopeless hope for a guilty sinner to rest on! And what a clever lie of Satan, by which he leads souls on to destruction!
For some weeks Mrs. W. assured her visitor that, since she was fairly good sort of woman, she had no need to fear, but that it would be all right with her at last. However, Miss R. knew, that instead of it being all right, it was altogether wrong with her aged friend, who was "without Christ," and without hope.
After a time the old lady grew silent about herself, and would just sit, resting her chin on her hands, eagerly listening to the word of truth, which told of her guilt and condemnation out of Christ. She heard, too, that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," that He "died for the ungodly," and that His blood cleanseth from "all sin." But though she appeared to listen with fixed attention, she never made any remark that proved that she heard with the ear of faith.
It was therefore with `great concern that Miss R. heard that she was so near her end. She quickly entered the room, where her aged friend lay apparently unconscious, with death stamped on the brow, and putting her lips close to the ear of the sufferer, she slowly repeated, "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." At the sound of her voice, Mrs. W. opened her eyes, and turned to give her visitor a smile of welcome.
"You are dying, dear Mrs. W.; do you know where you are going?”
"Yes. I'm—going—to—heaven."
"Are you quite sure?”
"Yes. I—know—Fm—going—to—heaven;— not— because —I'm— good,— no—not— because —I'm— good, —but— Jesus— died— for— me.”
These words were spoken slowly and with difficulty, then her eyes closed, her mind became dim, and before the next sunrise she was in the presence of the Lord Jesus, of whom she had said, He "died for me.”
What gave such confident assurance to this dying woman? She had heard God's Word and believed "the record that God gave of His Son," and therefore she knew that through His death she had everlasting life, quite apart from any merits of her own.
Dear reader, young or old, how is it with you? Have you the sins of your life still upon you? Are you trying to content yourself with the flimsy hope that God in His mercy will look over your sins, and that because you think you are not as bad as some people, you may expect to go to heaven when you die?