It was a hot July day, and I was taking a short train journey to visit some friends. Across from me sat a young boy about thirteen years old, and he looked very, very lonely. After we had been on our way for a while, he opened a little box and took out a sandwich and began to eat. As he ate, the tears began to roll down his cheeks. We soon started talking together and I found that his name was Raymond. He was feeling a bit lonely for his mother, and her kindness in packing a lunch for him had brought the tears to his eyes.
“Have you a long journey to go, Raymond?” I asked.
“Yes, sir. I am going to Liverpool and from there I take the boat to New York. My dear mother is a widow, and I am her only son. But I have three sisters still at home, and two are already in America. These two sisters have invited me to come to them and have sent the fare. They tell me that I can easily find work in New York.”
“And did you find it hard to leave your mother?”
“I surely did. And it was hard for mother to say good-bye to me.”
“Aren’t you afraid about going across the ocean and into a distant and new land?”
“No, I’m not afraid at all. I belong to the Lord Jesus, and before we said good-bye, mother and I kneeled down and asked God to take care of me on the ocean, and mother at home. And besides, my sisters have paid the fare, and they will meet me at the harbor. And I know they would not have sent for me if they didn’t know it would be for the best.”
I have told you of my talk, with this young traveler, for I know that you too are a traveler to another coury. Perhaps you have never crossed the Atlantic Ocean, but right now as you read this story you are hurrying onward toward a country which you have never visited before. But you are not going to visit this new country— you are going to stay there forever. I beg you to be sure that you are ready for this long and important journey.
God has told us in His own Word, the Bible, that there are two countries, Heaven and Hell. He tells us—
“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Matt. 7:13, 1413Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13‑14).
ML 07/15/1951