In the city of Rotterdam there lived a man whose work it was to load and unload many of the ships that came up the canal.
One busy day he noticed that a wooden case had been badly damaged in shipping, and that some of its contents were falling out. They proved to be portions of Holy Scripture, printed in England in the Dutch language sent out by the Bible Society. Vanheim reported the damage and went home, but not before he had read certain words from one of the gospel portions. He read: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away.”
Vanheim thought: “These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if this be true, how do I stand in regard to all that He has said and did when He was here?”
From that time he read the Scriptures with a new understanding. He knew that his previous devotions, however, sincere, could not save his soul. He learned that salvation is, “not of works lest any man should boast,” but is all of grace, the free unmerited gift of God, through Jesus the Redeemer. He learned that, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.”
What God did for Vanheim, He can do for you, dear reader.
ML-11/24/1974