"One day I was seated behind the counter," said a clerk in a book store. "An old sailor entered and, regarding me with a serious air, he said, 'Young man, I want a chart.'
"Very well, sir," I replied. "What chart do you wish? We have them all from the Gulf of Gascony to the Mediterranean.”
" 'Stop, stop,' said he. 'How ready you young folks are! I want a chart; but these you mention would be of no use to me. I want a chart which will guide me to heaven. The one I have been using up to now is out of date. Do you understand me, young man?'
"I understood at once he wanted a Bible. Taking down several I placed them before him. He selected one, evidently happy that I had so soon caught his thought. He asked the price and paid it. Then before leaving the store he turned to me and said with earnestness of voice and manner, 'Do you understand this chart?'
"I often read it," I replied.
"'That is good,' said the old man. 'I am glad to hear it; but remember, young man, that is not enough. You must follow the chart.'”
Reader, perhaps you are also one of those who often read the Bible as a matter of duty or habit. But the question is this: Has it made you wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus? (2 Tim. 3:1515And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15).)