The following has been given me by a dear young relative, of her grandfather’s conversion.
“It was about four o’clock on a beautiful May morning that a young man stood, leaning against the garden gate of his house, looking towards the sea, and enjoying the freshness of that early spring morning. He had not long returned from a ball, and had danced through the long hours of that night, and his thoughts were now occupied with the gaiety and excitement, in which he had so keenly participated, when suddenly, his attention was attracted by a paper which lay on the path outside the gate. Curiosity led him to secure the paper, which proved to be a leaflet headed by these words: “Rejoice O young man in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes, but know thou that for all these things God will bring Thee into judgment,” Eccl. 11-9.
As in a flash, he realized the emptiness of the glitter and gaiety of the previous night. Surely the God, of whom his parents had early taught him, was speaking in solemn warning of the judgment. A great fear oppressed his heart, and although he sought to find relief in his daily work, yet these words: “God will bring thee into judgment,” rang continually in his ears.
Months passed by, and still his troubled heart could find no peace. That he sought it earnestly was witnessed by the fact that he went from one religious gathering to another in his native town, “seeking rest and finding none.” Never again did he enter a ballroom, knowing well not in such places would be find the peace for which he longed. At last, after two years, God’s Holy Spirit, which had been striving with him for so long, led him to a little gospel meeting where he heard of God’s love, in sending His only Son into the world to die for sinners. The Lord Jesus Christ, the One who saves to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him, the One Who satisfies the longing soul. With deep contrition for his sins, but nevertheless with a deep joy in his heart, he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, as his own personal Saviour. Without a word, he hurried out of the hall and walked for miles, his heart and mind full of the One Who had become his Saviour, his Lord and his Friend.
A. A. L.