It had been a great coming-of-age party! Arthur Strong was still in a glow as he thought it all over. Life looked very good to him that night—and the future must be as bright. Yes, it had been a very satisfactory day.
Ready to undress for bed, Arthur’s hand automatically slipped into his pocket. There he found a folded bit of paper and he suddenly remembered a promise he had made earlier that day.
Among the visitors before the party had been an elderly uncle of his—“my religious old uncle,” Arthur laughingly called him. The old man had earned this title by speaking to him about eternal things—the very last subject his nephew wanted to hear about.
However, this uncle was a very wealthy man and Arthur wanted to keep himself in his good graces. Therefore on this occasion of his twenty-first birthday Arthur made sure that this “religious old uncle” was included in the invitations. He was not surprised when his elderly relative presented him with a very generous check; it might have been the gift which made Arthur willing to indulge his uncle in a small request.
Asked to take a short walk with his uncle, Arthur could not refuse, though he dreaded to be alone with his uncle for fear that he would speak to him about his soul. The old man guessed his feelings, and quickly reassured him. “My boy,” he said, “I shall not say anything of a religious nature to you today, but please take this piece of paper and, before you go to bed tonight, read it and fill in the one word that is missing.”
Glad to get off so easily, Arthur took the paper and gave his promise. Now as he stood alone in his room he prepared to keep his word. Unfolding the paper, he read the few words:
“To me to live is _______.”
“What in the world does that mean?” He stared at the piece of paper, completely puzzled. Then at the bottom written in small letters he read: Philippians 1:2121For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21).
“Oh. A Bible verse! That explains it. What funny notions my religious old uncle has.”
Now for the missing word. From the top shelf of his closet he retrieved his neglected Bible. It too was a gift from this uncle. With a little searching, the Bible reference was found and Arthur read the brief sentence aloud: To me to live is Christ.
“Poor old codger!” he thought. “How dreary! That may suit him, but it’s not my aim. I intend to enjoy myself, and I’m not ashamed of it. That’s what I’ll write—‘To me to live is to enjoy myself!’ ” Then with a sigh of relief Arthur signed his name and tucked both Bible and paper away. He fulfilled his promise to himself.
The years passed. Arthur married and had a child, a little girl, but other blessings were few. Following his plan of living for pleasure, he rapidly depleted what had been an abundant inheritance. Eventually, the time came when even his home and its furnishings must be sold.
As he stood in the dismantled house gloomily watching as the moving men packed his household effects, what a contrast he presented to the happy, carefree young man he had been at twenty-one. Even his voice expressed only hopelessness as he muttered, “My whole life is a failure.”
In the confusion of the dismantled rooms, only Arthur’s little girl, too young to realize the tragedy of it all, could find excitement and pleasure in examining the now unfamiliar furniture. Suddenly she came running to her father, holding up to him a folded bit of paper. “Look, Daddy! Look what I found,” she cried. “And it has writing on it.”
Absently taking the paper and unfolding it, the father read: “To me to live is—to enjoy myself,” and saw his own signature underneath. Oh, what a miserable failure it had all been! As he turned away and left the room his past years came before him in review.
“He had lived for himself,
He had thought for himself,
For himself and none beside,
Just as if Jesus had never lived;
As if He had never died.”
And what had been the end of it all? God spoke to him then and there, through that message from the past.
He fell on his knees, owning the mistake he had made. In true humility and contrition Arthur gave himself to the Saviour who had loved him and died to save him. “From now on,” he said, “to me to live shall be Christ.” v
Ye are not your own—
ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit,
which are God’s.