We were stationed at the front lines under constant threat from the enemy. I was walking near my foxhole one day when I saw a young soldier — even younger than I — lying on the ground reading a book.
“What’s that you’re reading?” I asked.
“My Bible,” he answered.
“Oh,” I said, “I’ve read that Book! It never did me any good. Give it up, man, give it up.”
“Listen to what I’m reading,” he answered quietly. “‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ This is from John 14, and isn’t it wonderful? No, I could never give it up!”
I walked away, deeply impressed by his sincerity.
A few minutes later a bomb burst near the place I had just left — the spot where I had talked to my fellow soldier. Wondering if he was safe, I ran back as soon as the dust had cleared. He lay there motionless — dead. I saw, partly hidden by his jacket, his treasured Bible.
With a feeling of awe, I picked it up and put it in my pocket. A Book that could give a look of joy like the one I’d seen on his face a few minutes before was worth another reading — a thoughtful, respectful reading. I felt sure that the young solider had gone to that home that he’d been reading about just before the explosion.
In a very different frame of mind than before, I read that dead soldier’s Bible. Over and over I read that fourteenth chapter of John. As I read in it that Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” I began to understand the way of salvation. I found the same Saviour that the soldier had known and loved, and his well-worn Bible became my own constant companion and comfort.
Why was this the most wonderful event in my life? Because it brought me to believe on Jesus and in God’s wonderful Word — the Bible. It’s God’s message to me and it’s His message to you. It has given me the instructions I need to prepare me for a better and happier place when I leave this world, and it gives me daily help, comfort and courage to face the many difficulties on the way to the Father’s house.
Find out more of the certainty that simply trusting God brings by reading Ever Since the Wedding Day.