LANCING round a very handsomely furnished drawing-room one's eye rested on an old sampler in a poor-looking black frame, conspicuous by its prominent position, and by its being so out of keeping with its handsome modern surroundings.
These samplers are rarely seen now, but in our grandmothers' days a girl's education was not considered complete until she had worked her sampler—a piece of very coarse canvas, on which were worked in colored silks the capitals and small letters of the alphabet and the numerals; then the girl's name, with the date, followed by a line or two of poetry, or a few birds or trees.
The lines on this particular sampler ran thus:
“IF YOU KNOW CHRIST YOU NEED KNOW LITTLE MORE;
IF NOT, ALL'S LOST THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED BEFORE.”
Was it the valuable sermon the old sampler preached, which had obtained for it its place of honor? Alas; its words were unheeded in that household. The eldest daughter of the family acknowledged to one who was speaking to her of the Savior, who "came into the world to save sinners," that she had never yet given five minutes' thought to her soul, and, judging by appearances, she voiced the experience of her family.
Not that they were irreligious, by any means, but religion and "knowing Christ" are two vitally different things. Religion adds an air of respectability to a man, but the confession of Christ as Savior always brings reproach and loss of caste.
No one displays the enmity of the natural heart to Christ, or opposes what is truly of Him, as does the purely religious man!
Prove it by pressing on him the absolute need of conversion if he is to be saved, as set forth by Christ Himself (see Matt. 18:33And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)), and he will recoil from the very term with anger and disdain!
No, the family generally attended their place of worship, where, according to report, they would listen to an able and eloquent sermon, the gist of its exhortations being that they should lead religious lives, be good, do good, and thus deserve and gain heaven at last!
Then was the old sampler wrong as to the necessity of "knowing Christ"? The Word of God—the word of Him "with whom we have to do"—can only decide that question, for a mistake as to how to "gain heaven" would be terrible indeed in its consequences for eternity.
His Word says: "Through this Man [Christ Jesus] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe are justified from all things." (Acts 13:38)
“We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins."(Eph. 1:7.)
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Tim. 1:15.)
"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:7.)
These Scriptures plainly show that I do not gain heaven by my own doings. Salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:9.)
As a poor lost sinner, I must "know Christ" as the One who died and shed His blood to atone to God for my sins. I am saved not on the ground of what I can do, but on the ground of what He has done for me.
But what was the secret of the poor old sampler having such a prominent place in that richly furnished room? A glance at its date revealed it. It was a valuable antique!
For nearly 120 years it had preached that pithy sermon.
Had it always preached in vain? We know not. It may be in those far-off years that some poor, weary, troubled soul, through reading its words, may have turned to Him of whom they spoke—the One who had said, " Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28.) Only a future day will tell.
My reader, do you "know Christ"?
“If not," when death comes, " all's lost that you have learned before." F'. A.