THE first time I saw Mary and her sister Lily I thought them the happiest pair in the place. Yet it had not always been so, for Mary, the eldest of the two, was supposed to be mad! Shall I tell you the story?
Previous to “the happy day” that fixed her choice on Christ, her Saviour and her Lord, she was wretched enough. Her misery was caused through her eyes being opened to see that she was a guilty sinner on her way to perdition. Through special services held in the neighborhood, Mary had been led to see that the Lord Jesus Christ died for her sins, and by believing on Him, they were all forgiven. Then she understood the meaning of Psalm 32:1, 21<<A Psalm of David, Maschil.>> Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Psalm 32:1‑2): “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity.”
When Mary obtained rest to her heart, and peace to her conscience, she could not keep the good news to herself, and told her mother and sister what God had done for her, and yet, strange to say, they were far from being pleased. The fact is, they looked upon those who said that they were “saved” as boasting; still Mary maintained that she was “saved”, and knew that her sins were forgiven. As the young convert spoke from a full heart of God’s mighty love, Mary’s mother and sister began to think that her mind had given way, and after consulting several physicians, they obtained certificates granting permission to remove her to a private asylum.
Mary’s sister had but little sleep the night preceding the contemplated removal. In the morning she said to her mother,
“Mother, I have been wondering whether we or Mary are mad.”
“That’s what I have been thinking,” was the mother’s reply. “If Mary is right, we are mad, and the Bible seems to be on her side. We will put off her departure for today.”
It is unnecessary to add that Mary was never placed in the “madhouse.” On the contrary, her mother and sister were awakened by the Holy Spirit to see that they were “mad” in refusing to accept of God’s “great salvation,” which He had so long been pressing on their acceptance as a free gift; and when a friend of the writer’s visited the house some time afterwards, he found Mary’s mother and sister and a room full of their relations rejoicing in Christ as their Saviour.
“Jesus Christ, Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” 1 Peter 1:7, 87That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (1 Peter 1:7‑8).
ML 10/09/1927