SHORTLY after my conversion I became anxious about the salvation of an aged relative. She was at times too deaf to catch a sound; her intervals of hearing were few indeed. I felt that none but God, by His Spirit, could minister to a need such as hers, and asked Him to open the ear to hear, and the heart to receive the blessed gospel of His grace. The answer came sooner than was expected. For one winter evening, when we were alone, I found that she could hear a little, so I spoke to her of God’s love, and of Christ dying for the ungodly.
My aged relative was almost childlike in her simplicity. She listened quietly for some little time, not seeming quite to comprehend the meaning of my words; but as I went on to tell her more of the good news, her face brightened, and she exclaimed, “Oh! is it true that Jesus died for me; that God loves me?”
“Yes,” I said, “quite true.”
She rose from her seat and walked across the room, to do which at other times would have cost a great effort. It seemed as if she could not sit still, now that the good news had found an entrance, giving light where darkness had reigned for more than eighty years. The aged face beamed with gratitude to Him who had done it all, as she said to me, “Will you thank God with me for this?” Surely the Lord received the praise of our hearts, touched by His love, and by His grace, forever set free for Himself.
A few years afterward my beloved relative passed away, to be for ever with the Lord.
R.