NEXT to me sat a young girl. The company around us were in lively conversation, and we two alone seemed out of it.
Turning to her, I said: “Can you tell me how many sins it would take to shut one out of heaven?”
She replied thoughtfully, “Could God allow one sin in heaven any more than a thousand?”
“No,” I said. “One sin in the Garden of Eden spoiled it all, and all the earth beside. All the misery all over the earth is the fruit of that one sin in Eden. If God allowed one sin in heaven it would ruin that too.”
“Why, then, did you ask me that question?” she said.
“Because, my dear, I want to ask you another—Have you ever committed one sin?”
Instantly her eyelids drooped, and she remained silent. In a moment, however, I saw a large tear running down her cheek, and softly she said, “Yes, more than one.”
“Could you,” I said, “put your finger on one that you remember?”
Another time of silence, and then, with evident pain, she said, “Yes; some time ago I denied what I knew to be true. I wanted to avoid difficulty.”
“Well then,” I said, “by your own confession you have committed at least one sin, and you said what I believe is true, that one sin would shut us out of heaven as well as a thousand. You then are shut out already. What are you going to do?”
A change of countenance came over her like a flash. Her eyes, though still full of tears, looked straight in my face as she said with reverence, “The Lord Jesus died for me. He is my only hope.”
I could only add, “That will not fail you, dear girl, at the gate of heaven, so it may well give you peace now.”
ML-05/22/1966