"I sailed the seas for six years without Christ, but for the last four years with Christ.”
The speaker was a Swedish sailor, a wanderer in every sense of the word. He had wandered from home; he had wandered from his ship; and, worst of all, he had wandered from God.
It was on a Christmas day, when, lonely and homesick, he wandered into a gospel meeting. There a hymn was sung which touched his aching heart:
"Where is my wandering boy tonight,
The boy of my tenderest care:
The boy that was once my joy and light,
The child of my love and prayer?”
In memory he could see his mother bending over her work. Tears would be flowing down her cheeks as she thought of her wandering boy. His father, too, he envisioned seeking to pierce the distance between them with his dimming eyes. Overcome with emotion, he rose and left the hall. No one spoke to him, no one told him of Jesus and the home He has prepared. In his distress, the wanderer determined to go home to his earthly father, still knowing nothing of the Father above.
He was soon welcomed heartily by his family; but home influences were not for God. Eternal matters were entirely ignored among them. God was not in all their thoughts. In company with his brother, the sailor lad willingly entered into every godless pursuit, and, in their search for entertainment, he began to drink.
In this condition the mighty hand of grace led the two one night into a Salvation Army meeting. This was not to the liking of the younger brother, and he soon left the sailor.
Somewhat befuddled by drink and cozily warm in the little hall, the sailor lad settled down to "enjoy the show," as he thought; but before long he was listening eagerly to the old, old story of Jesus and His love. When others responded to the call for penitents, he too was soon on his knees confessing his unworthiness and seeking the peace that passeth understanding. And God in grace made good to him His promise in Jer. 29:1313And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13), "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.”
In scorn and ridicule his family listened to his story of God's saving grace; and, determined to hold fast to his new-found joy, the happy lad again signed up aboard ship.
The next Christmas day, this young Christian was aboard a ship bound from Boston to Europe. The weather was exceedingly rough, a n d the sailor's thoughts turned to the comfort and safety he had found in Christ. Selecting a dry place in the lee of the funnel, he sought to snatch another brief word from His pocket Bible. Hardly was he settled down when a big sea broke over the vessel. To his own amazement, the sailor lad found, when the great wave ebbed back into the deep, that with his two hands he was holding fast to two bulwarks against disaster,—the rail of the ship and his precious Book, the Word of God.
Reader, are you safe in Christ? I beg you, stop your wanderings in search of peace. Let Him be your Hope, your Refuge.