PASSING along to business, I came upon a Christian neighbor trying hard to open his shop door, an effort which seemed to beat him. I offered to assist him, and on inserting the key he was using, found that it did not snit the lock.
“Are you sure that this is the right key?” I asked, upon which he put his hand into his pocket and drew forth several keys, one of which he picked out, and holding it up, said,
“What a foolish thing, to be trying to open the door with the wrong key!”
Putting the right key into the lock and giving it a gentle turn, the door opened at once and he stepped inside, remarking with a laugh,
“It’s an old habit of mine to work with wrong keys; I did it when I was seeking salvation by works and prayers and religion for many a day, but when I applied the key of ‘faith’, the door was opened, and I walked in to enter on the joyful possession of God’s salvation.”
We praised the Lord together for showing us the right key, apart from which no sinner ever was or will be saved. Strange and foolish as it may appear, there are many, old and young, seeking to enter the door of God’s salvation, by using the wrong key.
ML 06/27/1937