At the close of a meeting held some time ago in a mining district, a stalwart miner, in deep anxiety of soul, walked up to the preacher to inquire what he had to do to be saved. God's Word, through the power of the Holy Spirit, had touched his heart, and he had made the awful discovery that he was a lost sinner on the way to eternal perdition.
The servant of Christ unfolded to him the way of salvation. He told him how God, in infinite love and pity, had given His Son to be the sinner's Substitute, and bear the judgment of sin in the sinner's stead. He showed him, from Scripture, that the Lord Jesus, the ever blessed Son of God, came into the world "to seek and to save that which was lost!" He told him how Jesus, of His own free will, gave His life a ransom for us, so that God's righteous sentence of death, as the wages of sin, having been borne by our divine Substitute, all who simply believe in Him—all who rest on His finished work—are saved.
All this seemed dark to the miner. The burden of unforgiven sin pressed heavily upon him, and as the hours passed, the preacher urged him to turn from self and sin, and look to "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." No impression appeared to be made, and when eleven o'clock came, the preacher told the miner it was time to go home. He suggested that he should return to the chapel on the following evening to hear whatever message the Lord, by the Spirit, might send.
With an agonized look, the poor fellow replied: "No, I won't leave; it must be settled tonight or never!”
They remained together, talking and praying. Hours passed, and still he did not lay hold of the soul-saving truth. The preacher himself had almost despaired; but as the clock struck three the light of the glorious gospel suddenly burst upon him. He saw and believed the glorious fact that the work of Christ on the cross had satisfied the justice of God on account of his sins. Joy and peace filled his heart. Rising from his seat, and clasping his hands together, he exclaimed, "It's settled now. Christ is mine!”
Together the two men thanked God for His sweet gift of salvation, and the miner, a newborn child of God, thanked His servant who had been the instrument of leading him to the Savior. Soon afterward he was on his way to work in the coal-pit, a happy and rejoicing, because a saved, man.
In the course of the day a sudden crash was heard by those in the neighborhood of the pit. Quickly the news spread that part of the roofing of the mine had fallen in, burying a number of miners beneath it. Immediately men were set to work digging towards those who were known to be underneath.
After working for some time they heard a faint voice. Digging with renewed energy in the direction whence it proceeded, they soon reached the newly converted miner.
Life was not quite gone, for he was speaking. Eagerly they listened, and the words they caught were these: "Thank God, it was settled last night.”
These were the last words he uttered. When his body reached the surface, life was extinct. The happy, redeemed spirit had "departed to be with Christ, which is far better." Little did the miner think how solemnly true the memorable words which he had uttered the preceding night were to prove in his own case—"It must be settled tonight or never.”
Unsaved reader, let this incident speak to your inmost soul. You intend, no doubt, to come to Christ "some time"; but why not now? Why put off, for a more "convenient season," the most momentous question of your existence? And are you sure of a time of repentance? You may not see tomorrow's sun. Oh, then, flee to Christ now. Rest on His finished work today, so that, even if called away in an instant, as the poor miner was, you will be able to say with him, "Thank God, it was settled last night!”
"Tonight may be thy latest breath,
Thy little moment here be done;
Eternal woe—the second death—
Awaits the Christ-rejecting one.
Thine awful destiny foresee!
Time ends, and then-ETERNITY!”