I read a letter from a young girl who was asked if she knew the Lord Jesus Christ as her Saviour, to which she replied,
“I can answer that with a big Yes.”
She then went on to tell how the Lord spoke to her through a letter received from her Sunday school teacher. She had just started out to work, and the loving appeal met with a blessed result, and then and there she took the Lord Jesus as her Saviour and wrote to tell her teacher so. I have known of quite a few cases of definite conversion, resulting from letters written in dependence on the Lord, and I feel I must just commend this to the prayerful consideration of the many Sunday school teachers who read this magazine.
The children in our Sunday schools only receive letters on very rare occasions, and they are delighted to have one all to themselves. This gives such a blessed opportunity of a very definite, personal appeal. It may be asked, When should I write? This must be a matter between yourself and the Lord, but the one who has the souls of the young ones upon his or her heart, will find that occasions do arise. The absence of a child through sickness or other reasons, gives a good opportunity for a letter. Then I know of one teacher who finds out the date of the children’s birthdays and writes them a loving letter of greeting to be received on that day, not forgetting the importance of starting another year with Christ as their Saviour and Lord. This teacher has been definitely encouraged in this service, and the Lord has used the letters to more than one child.
There is another feature about a letter which is not always the case with the spoken word. The latter is often forgotten and not appropriated, but the written message is definitely personal, and there is no doubt for whom the appeal is meant. The letter is frequently kept, and valued, and may deliver its message at a future day.
An interesting incident in connection with this is told by Mr. L. in his book, “Hand Gathered Fruit.” A young lady, when asked for an account of her conversion, said that one day she was clearing out a box containing the accumulation of many years. She was destroying many old letters, and as she glanced at them before tearing them up, she noticed a letter, the handwriting of which was strange to her. Opening it, she discovered it was one from her Sunday school teacher, written many years before, when she had left home to go to a situation. In the letter her teacher spoke of the love of Jesus, and urged her to accept Him as her Saviour. The letter had doubtless been read when received, and not destroyed, but laid aside, and after a time altogether forgotten. Now, as she read it again, after years had rolled by, the loving appeal of her teacher came with wondrous power to her heart, and kneeling there by the pile of torn letters to be burnt, with tears running down her cheeks, she yielded to the Lord. Very probably the teacher never knew the result of that letter, but the day of glory will reveal it to her, and also surprises for many of us, who have not seen the results at the time of service done to the Lord, with the desire for blessing to souls.
May the Lord stir up our hearts to use every opportunity that He puts before us for His glory.