The railway coach was filling rapidly when a young fellow entered and sat down beside me. As the train moved off, he began to hum a hymn tune and I wondered if he were a Christian. Then, a lady came along handing out gospel tracts. As she handed one to Tom at my side, he said, “May I pass it on when I’m done with it?”
“Certainly,” was her reply.
I then turned to the young fellow and asked, “Do you know the real meaning of that tract in your heart and experience?”
“Yes, thank God, I do,” he replied. “How did it all come about?” So he told me his story.
“Do you see that farm over there? That’s where I work. My first boss was a Christian. He was always trying to do us good, and had gospel meetings every week. But I couldn’t be bothered with the thing. I wasn’t a bad sort of fellow, but I didn’t want to be a Christian. I liked a drink now and then and a game of cards; but I just hated all that kind of thing the boss was so keen about. Things went on until I found a strange illness affecting me so that I couldn’t get through a day’s work as I used to.
“At last the boss saw that something was wrong, so one day he said, ‘Tom, you better see the doctor and have a checkup.
“Now, I thought, it’s all up with me. The doctor will probably say, ‘Tom, you haven’t long to live.’ Then I’ll be just done with. So I drove off to see the doctor, about ten miles away. I didn’t hurry the first five miles, I can tell you. I got to turning things over and over and talking to myself in this sort of way: ‘Here, Tom, you are in a bad way. Probably you’ll get bad news from the doctor, that you haven’t got long to live; and if you’ve got to die, you’ll just wish you were a Christian, and it will be awful mean to just give yourself to Christ because you were scared. But then, if the doctor says you will be all right in six months, you won’t mind, and you won’t want to be a Christian.’ So I got to working it backwards and forwards in my mind and I saw there was only one right thing to do-an honest thing; and that was to give myself right up to the Lord Jesus before I got to the doctor, and knew what my future might be.
“So I stopped there on the side of the road, jumped out, got down on the grass and said, ‘Lord Jesus, I am all wrong. I am a big sinner. I am lost, and I know it. I have to see the doctor, and I don’t know what he’ll say to me; but I want Thee,’ Lord Jesus, to take me just now and here, if Thou wilt, and forgive me, and change my life, and take away my sins, and keep me from sin. Oh, take me as I am!’
“And the Lord Jesus just did it. I just trusted to Him then and there as my own personal and loving Saviour.
“I jumped up and didn’t I drive happily over the road the other five miles? I didn’t care what might happen now. Going along, the Lord seemed to talk to me just as if He were sitting by my side. He seemed to say, ‘Tom, you are Mine.’ ‘Yes, Lord.’ ‘All Mine—spirit, soul, and body? ‘Yes, Lord. ‘Well, Tom, I want to send you on some errands for Me—to take some messages for Me; but I want My messengers to be like Me, and to be holy.’ And so the Voice seemed to whisper, ‘I want you to give up drink, I don’t like My servants to touch it. It is not a good example to others; and it ruins so many.’ ‘Lord,’ said I, ‘I’ll never want to touch it again.’ And then, Tom, I want My messengers to have a sweet breath when they speak My messages; I do not want you to waste their money.’ ‘No, Lord I can see that plainly enough.’ ‘So’ Tom, for My sake, give up your smoking!’ Away went my tobacco out into the road. I felt that God was claiming me altogether.’
“Well, I got to the doctor, and he examined me all over, and said ‘Tom, you will be all right if you will do what I say — give up drinking.” I have given it up already.’ ‘And then you must quit smoking.’ ‘Well, doctor, I’ve given that up too!’ ‘You’ll be all right if you’re careful.’
“Thank you, doctor, but I seem all right now. I got put right on my way here.” ‘Then why did you come to see me?’ ‘Well, the fact is, doctor, I met another Physician on the way to you.’ Another doctor? There’s no other doctor within forty miles of me. ‘What’s his name?’
“Reverently, with tears running down my cheeks, for I couldn’t keep them back, I said, ‘His name is the Lord Jesus Christ, doctor’; ‘and I told him all that happened.’ The doctor took my hand, and said, ‘Tom, I thank you for your honest and bold confession. I wish I could say the same as you; but I can’t. Still, I feel you have helped me, and I thank you. God bless you. You’ll be all right before long.’
“That’s how it all came about, and I have been praising the Lord ever since. Now I rejoice to serve the Lord and to help on His work any way I can.”
ML 11/12/1967