The Civil War was raging. The men in gray and the men in blue, Confederates and Federals, or "Rebels" and "Yankees," as the Southerners and the Northerners respectively termed each other, were engaged in deadly strife, fellow-countryman against fellow-countryman, sometimes, even brother against brother, son against father.
Among the combatants was a young man known as George. He was the son of a Christian mother; but he himself led a careless, godless life, and did not trouble about his soul and its eternal destiny.
When George was mustered into service, his mother gave him a Bible, begging him to read it daily. His love for his mother was not enough to make him carry out her earnest request, but it was too great to allow him to part with her gift which he always carried in his breast pocket.
One day after a battle from which George had come unhurt, he discovered that the breast of his tunic had been pierced by a bullet. On further search he found that the bullet had entered his Bible, but had not penetrated completely through it. His long-neglected Bible had thus been the means of saving his life. Eagerly he turned over the leaves to see where the bullet had stopped, and these were the words he read: "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." Eccl. 11:99Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
The bullet intended by man to be a messenger of death was turned by God's mercy into a messenger of life to that young man. It pointed to a verse which went straight home to his conscience, showing him how he had indeed been walking in the ways of his own heart and in the light of his own eyes, and warning him too that he must one day be judged by the God whom he had neglected and ignored. Condemned by the silent scripture, the young man turned to the Lord Jesus Christ. He trusted in Him as his Savior and received the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.
Another true story of a bullet tells of an event which took place in Europe where French and Germans opposed each other in the trenches. One young soldier involved was a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. For him therefore to be "absent from the body" would mean to be "present with the Lord." Nevertheless, the nerve-racking roar of the cannon, the scream of the death-dealing shells, and the whizzing of bullets past one's ears are an awful ordeal for frail human nature to pass through, and a man is not necessarily a coward to feel something of their terrors. So our soldier-boy lifted up his heart to God in prayer that his life might be spared.
As if in mockery of his petition, a bullet came whizzing along and struck him full in the chest! But instead of falling to the ground sorely wounded or killed, he remained absolutely unhurt! What was the meaning of this?
The mystery was solved when later on he unfastened his tunic. The bullet had pierced the little Bible which was his constant companion. Like the young man in the American war, he opened the precious Book to see how far the bullet-hole went, and found it had stopped at these words: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." Psa. 34:77The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. (Psalm 34:7).
Again God had used a bullet as His messenger. This time it was not for awakening a careless soul, but for comforting and strengthening one of His own children. God, who knows the heart, had in each case sent the right message to the right man.
Dear reader, which of the two messages comes from God to your heart today? Are you like the first soldier, needing the warning voice which tells of judgment to come? Or are you like the soldier in Europe, sheltered beneath the precious blood of Christ, and safe under the shadow of His wings?
Perhaps you say: "Though I can't say I am saved, yet I don't feel that I need the warning addressed to the first soldier. I am not godless, or careless about religion. I have led a good, moral life; I have attended church, and said my prayers; so what is wrong with me?"
Oh, my friend! If you are trusting to your moral life and your religiousness, the words of the Preacher about walking "in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes," apply to you as truly as to the vilest sinner on earth. Don't misunderstand me! Thank God for every man or woman who leads a decent, moral life instead of an immoral one! But oh remember that it is God's mercy, and not your merit, which has kept you from the vices which destroy men and their homes, both in our dear country and in distant lands. Remember too that in spite of your morality you are yet a sinner in thought, in word, and in deed—unfit to stand before a holy God.
Morality cannot save you! Religion, with its forms, its ceremonies, and its emotions, cannot save you. If you trust to them, you are indeed walking in the ways of your own heart, and in the sight of your own eyes.
Christ alone can save you. Turn to Him without delay. Own your own sinfulness, and trust in Him as your Savior. So shall you be safe, whether in life or in death: safe in Christ, if left on earth; safe with Christ, if called to die.