ONE day Charles, the only son of a widow, a boy of about thirteen years of age, ran into his mother’s room with an open book in his hand, crying out: “See, mother! here it is!”
“Now, what is it?” said his mother, rather startled at his unexpected, and hasty entrance.
“Just listen, mother!” said Charles; “the Lord Jesus has said, ‘Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.’” Matt. 15:1919For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: (Matthew 15:19).
The teacher read it out to us, and I asked him for the book, in which it was written, that I might show it to you. Here it is, mother! It is, in the Bible, and the Bible is God’s Word.”
A few days before this Charles had come home from school, crying bitterly. His mother thought that something had happened to him, or that one of the boys had hurt him; but Charles shook his head.
“What is the matter, my boy?” asked the mother. But Charles could not answer; the words the teacher read out to them, had pierced his conscience, and he felt convinced of their truth. At last he said, sobbing,
“O, mother! I am a wicked boy.” “But, Charlie, what have you done? Have you lied or stolen?”
“No, mother! I have neither lied nor stolen, but I have such a wicked heart.”
“Come, boy, what is the matter with you. You make me nervous with your crying. I thought something terrible had happened. And now you come to me with such silly talk.”
“No, mother! it is not silly talk,” said Charles, beginning again to cry. “The teacher at Sunday-school told us this afternoon, that we all have wicked hearts, and that out of them come everything that is evil; and that shows that we are sinners, and we shall all go to hell, unless we are converted, and the teacher said this was true of everybody.”
“Why,” said the mother, “this is worse and worse. So, I too, have a wicked heart! Come, come, that is nothing but foolishness.”
“No, no, mother! You must not say that. The Lord Jesus said it, and what
He says is true.”
“No,” said the mother, “I don’t believe a word of it. You must first show it to me, so that I can read it with my own eyes.”
Charles said no more, but remained cast-down the whole day, now and then weeping.
“What shall I do?” he said to himself. “If I die, I shall go to hell. And I might die tonight, like William, next door, who was taken so suddenly. But the teacher said also, that the Lord Jesus will forgive us our sins, and take us to heaven, if we come to Him as sinners. He will cleanse us with His own blood. O, I will go to Him’, and ask Him! He will listen to me. The Lord Jesus is good. He took even little children in His arms, and He has said: ‘Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.’”
Charles did so. When he went to bed and was alone, he fell on his knees, and implored the Lord earnestly and fervently for mercy. He wept long and bitterly, and confessed his sins, and implored Him to save Him from eternal destruction.
When he awoke in the morning, he felt quite relieved. His sorrow was turned into joy; his anxiety into peace. The Lord had heard him. No wonder that he looked quite different when he came down in the morning. Instead of weeping and sobbing, his face was radiant with joy.
“O, mother!” he cried out, as his mother kissed him; “the Lord Jesus has heard me. He has forgiven my sins, and given me peace!”
His mother said little; for she couldn’t understand it. She had never seriously thought about her being a sinner, and therefore on the broad road leading to destruction, but when Charles came with the Bible, and read to her the words of the Lord Jesus, and spoke so earnestly and faithfully about them, then she began to doubt if she was on the right way; and it was not long before she, too, cast herself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, confessing her sins, and imploring His forgiveness. The Lord heard her, and gave her rest and peace in her soul. How happy Charles was! Now they could serve Him together, and worship and praise Him for His endless goodness and unutterable grace.
Dear little friends! think about this story seriously: You have so often heard that you have a wicked heart, and without the Lord Jesus, you must be eternally lost; and yet many of you have not turned to the Lord, but live on, as if you were not sinners, and as if judgment did not follow death. O, I beseech you, do not continue so! Believe the Word of God. Do not let Satan mislead. you. Awake out of sleep. Think of your sins, and the long, terrible eternity. If you seek refuge in the Lord Jesus, He will save you, and make you happy forever. You will never regret it, but will rejoice throughout eternity.
You do not need to do as Charles did. We read that he “implored the Lord earnestly and fervently for mercy. He wept long and bitterly, . . and implored Him to save him from eternal destruction.”
The word is, “Come unto Me”, “Look unto Me,” “Whosoever will,” “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.” God is imploring you to be reconciled to Him.
Come to Jesus now; accept His loving invitations.
ML 01/13/1924