“WELL, C., have you found out that Jesus loves you yet?” I asked a young girl of fifteen a few weeks back.
She stopped short in the work she was doing and turned upon me a somewhat bewildered look.
“Found out what, miss?” she asked. “That Jesus loves you,” I repeated gently. “No, I don’t know nothing about it: who is Jesus?” and she smiled incredulously at the mere idea of anyone loving her.
“Have you never heard of Jesus?” I asked in blank astonishment and pity.
“No, who is He?”
“Don’t you know who God is?”
“Well, I think I’ve heard that name before—father says it when he swears.”
Her wondering eyes filled with tears, and her lips quivered, as, feebly indeed, I tried to tell her something of the love of Jesus, that, “old, old story,” always dear and sweet to the hearts of those who, through God’s mercy, have been brought to know and taste His love in all its richness and power.
Poor girl! she had been brought up in a wretched home, where she had never even heard the precious name of Jesus; and up till that time she knew nothing whatever of His tender pitying love to her, a poor lost sinner. In her ears God’s blessed name had only been used for blasphemy and swearing.
As I went on to tell how the Lord Jesus laid His glory by and came down into all the ruin and misery of this wretched world, ―how He suffered and died for poor lost helpless ones, that all who would accept Him might have a full free pardon and the knowledge of a present and eternal salvation, the blinding tears rolled over and trickled down her cheeks, and evidently she was greatly touched.
Since then she has manifested a desire to hear more of the blessed truths of salvation; and we trust that God is working in her soul, and that through His mercy, she will be brought to know the Saviour.
Dear reader, what about yourself? Maybe your condition is far worse than that of poor C. in all her dense ignorance. You have heard of the love of Jesus: is it anything to you? or are you rejecting it, just looking the precious Saviour in the face, and saying deep down in your heart, “I don’t want Thy love, I don’t want to be a Christian, not yet.” Ah! that terrible “not yet,” the Devil’s tomorrow, Satan’s lullaby. And why does he want you to put off settling the question of your soul’s salvation until some future time? Because he knows that before tomorrow morning dawns he may have you safe in hell.
And all the time the Saviour is standing by your side in melting love and pity, waiting to bless you and to save you!
Are you not going to let Him save you now?
A young girl wrote to me the other day that she did want to be a Christian She knew she was unsaved, she knew she was utterly bad; but she deliberately chose to go on as she was at present. She might change her mind one day, she said.
Is that your case, dear one? and if so, do you think God will lightly pass over such willful rejection of His Christ? Will He give you the chance of that “one day”? You cannot tell. Maybe His Spirit is striving with you for the last time. God will care for the honor of His dear Son; and if you go on rejecting Him, you are spurning, despising that wondrous gift of His love, and trampling under foot His precious blood shed for you.
Oh! do not linger another half-hour unsaved; why should you? He is holding out a full, free pardon to you Won’t you accept it?
F. M.