“This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”
ONE of the boxes intended for the sick and wounded in the front of the army, contained a beautiful soft bedspread. “How beautiful! how soft and warm! it will be for the comfort of our soldiers!”
These were our exclamations as we drew it from its hiding pace. And it did indeed cause great joy in the hospital and a source of great comfort to many a suffering one.
What? a bedspread doing all this you say? Yes, listen. As we unfolded the spread we found a piece of paper pinned and these words written on it: “I have prepared this spread for the field hospital thinking it might cover a sick body, as well as speak a good word to the soul. Those Scripture texts are balm for the wounded heart. The Lord bless the dear soldiers among whom I also have a son.”
“Amen,” said we as our tears fell down on the spread. Were these the first tears? No, not the first, nor the hundredth. The spread was, as I learnt later on, the work of a widow, wrought with much prayer and many tears.
The spread was put together of many different colored pieces of goods in a very clever and tasteful way. The most remarkable thing about the spread was a good many white pieces of cloth and on each one was a Scripture text or a verse of some hymn, and all was done so neat and clean, you could see how much pains the one took who made it. On the centerpiece was in large letters: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” and below that, the publican’s cry: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” The upper border, nearest to the eye of the patient, contained a number of texts full of love, comfort and hope. Between the border and the center you could see: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
“If only all our beds had such spreads,” remarked some of us; “how many of the sick and wounded would be helped and profited!”
A few days later a number of sick arrived, and one of them received this remarkable spread. At first he was too ill to notice what was going on around him. But as he grew stronger, he could be noticed reading the texts carefully. Then he said: “How good that these are here.”
“Indeed! and do you know the value of these Scriptures?”
“Yes, thank God, I do!” was his reply.
“Do you know the verse: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path?” Ps. 119:105.
“I have often heard the verse, and it is right here on the spread.”
After this patient left the hospital, the occupants of this bed changed oftener. Most all of them read the texts with great interest, and many committed them to memory. Once a young soldier ha the bed who tossed day and night on account of severe pain and fever and could not rest: One morning his eye caught that precious verse: “COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU, AND LEARN OF ME; FOR I AM MEEK AND LOWLY IN HEART: AND YE SHALL FIND REST UNTO YOUR SOULS.” Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28).
He called the nurse to his bed and cried: “Rest! where can I find rest, rest for my body and my soul? I am sick and weak in body; you can see that. But I am more than sick, and that you can’t see. I am very unhappy, and don’t know what to do. Tell me. is there real rest for an unhappy heart like mine? Where can I find rest?”
“Don’t you know the way?” asked the nurse, touched by the earnestness of the sick man; “have you never heard of Jesus the Saviour of sinners?”
“I have, but it is king since; tell me of Him, but so simple, as though you were telling it to a little child.”
His request was granted and the life of the Lord and His death were simply told.
The patient listened with the greatest of attention, then asked: “And did He die for my sins also?”
“He surely did. He saw us all in our sins; He pitied us; He loved us and died for us to give us rest, peace and happiness. He would like to make you happy and to save you from eternal ruin.”
“I have never been happy,” said the soldier sadly. “No, never! Oh, if you knew me better you would understand I have lived a bad, very bad life. I am a great sinner. But is it really true that he died for me?”
“I never heard anything like this before. It is too wonderful. I can’t believe it.”
“Yes, it is wonderful. The love of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ passes all knowledge. But I trust that you too will soon be able to realize some of this in your own soul, and find peace.”
“If I only were not so sick and weak,” sighed the young soldier; “but as I am, I cannot do one thing, not one thing!”
“You have nothing to do, the Lord Jesus has done it all. Listen to His own words: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but is passed from death unto life.’ John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24). He who hears and believes, possesses.”
With these words I left him, commending him to the Lord, who is ever the best teacher. And, lo, soon after, this poor man found the much-desired rest, first for His soul, then for his body also. He left the hospital a different, a happier man.
ML 12/23/1906