Like Jabez, long ago (1 Chron. 4:9,109And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 10And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. (1 Chronicles 4:9‑10)) Tom had learned by bitter experience that Sin and Sorrow are inseparable twins. Furthermore, they dogged his path wherever he went. He tried to escape by abandoning the city for the prairie; then in a banking career; then in married bliss. He tried going to churches of every denomination, as well as to a little unnamed meeting hall; but in vain. He finally found deliverance one cold winter night, when a fellow bank employee opened his little Bible as they walked home, and read to him: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Isa. 1:1818Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18).
Our story begins when Tom, as a world-weary young Englishman, resolved: "I'll find peace on the prairies. So far from the big cities, there can be no sin. There I will turn over a new leaf and start life all over again."
A few months later found him in his newly chosen field, toiling in the broad wheatlands of Manitoba, an employee of a prosperous Canadian farmer, who desired to be called William.
William was a powerful man with a kind face and luxuriant beard. He had a good wife and together they owned and operated the farm. Besides being religiously inclined, William was a member in high standing in the Orange Lodge. Outwardly, everything appeared serene, and Tom thought that at last he had found a secure and peaceful nest.
After the first day's work and the hearty meal that followed, to Tom's surprise, William proposed that they sit down "and have a little chat about the Bible." Strangely enough, the suggestion created a ripple of resentment in Tom. The Bible was never read in his old home in England. Besides, he had come to Canada to turn over a new leaf, not to turn over pages in the Bible.
William lost no time in informing Tom that although he had read the Bible through three times, he still could not understand it. It had convinced him, however, that being a chief officer in the Orange Lodge could never get him to heaven.
"Look at Moses," he reasoned, "He sinned only once and was barred from entering the promised land. So what chance have we?"
The following evening William again suggested that they "have a little chat about the Bible." This time he introduced the "meditation," with a declaration that—
"Now, after all, I do have a chance to get to heaven, because I have never turned away anyone who came to me for help."
At this point, his comely little wife, who had been a silent listener as she washed the dishes, spoke: "William," she said, "remember how you lied to the man when you sold him that cow."
"That's enough from you," snapped William angrily.
"But, William, you did," she insisted. Poor William! If only he had known and believed that the one ground of peace with God and the only title to heaven is the shed blood of Christ! Tom was unable to tell him, but we hope someone else did.
The nagging pangs of conscience which prompted Tom to leave England, were not in the least allayed by William's groping for peace and his doubts about reaching heaven. This, coupled with the sudden rift in William's domestic happiness shattered Tom's dream of finding peace on the prairies, and eventually he forsook the farm to find work in the city.
He was not long in finding employment in a bank, and in this sense of financial security, he married and settled in Winnipeg.
It was then mutually decided between him and his bride that they should "go to church." It seemed the normal thing to do. But which church? It was agreed that they would try them all and then choose. Eventually, having attended practically every church in the city, large and small, and finding satisfaction in none, they "gave up on religion" to seek happiness in a social whirl.
By this time Tom had become a bank messenger, a promotion which proved to be the turning point in his life. His work brought him together with another messenger named Wilson, who was a Christian, although Tom did not know it Tom was drawn to him. Wilson never spoke about religion, but Tom could not help noticing how different he was to the rest of the staff— how kind he was to everyone: and all the things he did to help him and others.
"There is something about that man," Tom soliloquized; "I like him."
A whole year had elapsed without any mention of Christian things, when one afternoon Wilson said: "Tom, you have listened to a lot of things during your life; now, how would you like to listen to the truth?"
"I'll listen to anything," replied Tom carelessly, "I've heard everything else, I've been everywhere and am ready to go anywhere."
"I'll meet you at the corner at seven tonight, and take you to hear the truth," said Wilson.
Tom was there when Wilson arrived, and together they walked to the "hall". It was the most unpretentious place— a single, tiny, three-cornered room, with bare walls and no furniture except a plain small table and rows of hard chairs. A small group of very ordinary people were already seated. Everyone held a well-worn Bible, even the little children. A godly atmosphere pervaded the whole scene. But Tom was like a caged bird. When someone put a Bible in his hands, he felt stupid; he could not turn to a single verse.
"What am I doing here?" he muttered. "I must be crazy. Once I'm out, I will never come back!"
But Gird had put His hand upon him, and three weeks later he was back at that same little room, drawn as if by some invisible Power.
"What is happening to me?" he asked himself. "Am I becoming weak-minded?"
Three months rolled by before Wilson said another word to him about the Bible. Then one night after work he said he would walk part way home with Tom. As they strolled along, this time Wilson directed their conversation away from business to eternal things, and quoted from the Bible: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
"Tom," said Wilson, "do you want to continue being a natural man?" Tom did not answer, but his inward thought was: "It is a cold night; why doesn't he go home to supper? Why does he bother with me?"
But Wilson persevered. He told of Christ dying upon the cross as the mighty sacrifice for sin, and then declared to Tom the gospel.
"Think of it, Tom," he said; "Jesus did it all. There is nothing left for you to do. And now God is ready to forgive every sin you have ever committed, and He says He will remember them no more. It's all on account of what Jesus has done for you. 'As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us' (Psalm 103:1212As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12))— and that's a long, long way, Tom."
Wilson then left Tom to board a street car, and Tom went home— but not to supper.
"I went up to my room and knelt beside my bed, and there and then accepted Christ as my Savior. After all my wanderings I had at last found the key to peace with God. The burden of guilt rolled away from my heart and conscience. That was aver sixty years ago, and God has kept me ever since." So said Tom who recently told us this story about himself.
I sighed for rest and happiness;
I yearned for them, not Thee!
But while I passed my Savior by
His love laid hold of me.
Whether one is an earthly monarch or an inconspicuous unknown person, the way of salvation and eternal life is the same.