All that the doctors could do, all the medicine and treatments had been exhausted, and eleven-year-old Harry was near the end of a long illness. Old Mr. Brown, himself nearing the end of his years, said to him, “I wonder why you are not afraid to die; I am terribly afraid!”
A Christian visitor heard the sad admission, and tried to persuade the old man to accept the free gift of God’s great love immediately.
“I know it all,” Brown answered, “but I do not understand how I can get it, how I can make it my own.”
“How did you get it, Harry?” asked the visitor.
“Why,” said the boy, “when the Lord Jesus said to me, ‘Come unto Me . . . and I will give you rest,’ I just said with all my heart, ‘Yes, Lord, I come,’ and He kept His word, and gave me rest. And when He said, ‘Come now,’ I just said, ‘Yes, Lord, now; not tomorrow.’ And when He promised to forgive me freely, to make me His own, and fit me to be with Him forever, I just said, ‘YES, LORD!’ How could I say ‘No’ to Him?”
The visitor turned again to Mr. Brown. “Yes, Mr. Brown, Harry told us the truth; it is just saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to God’s own words. It must be one or the other. If we are not saying ‘Yes’ to his invitation, and to His wonderful promises, we are saying, ‘No, Lord, I do not believe.’ ‘No, Lord, I will not come!’ ”
After praying with them, the Christian left and Mr. Brown asked the child again why he was not afraid to die.
“There’s nothing more to tell, nothing but just that I say, ‘Yes, Lord,’ to whatever Jesus says to me. If you are afraid, Mr. Brown, it must be that you are saying ‘No.’ He says, ‘It is I; be not afraid,’ and I say, ‘Yes, Lord, I am not afraid.’ ”
“You are right, child. I have been saying ‘No’ all my life to the Lord, but it is too late now. I wish I had known before that it was just that—just saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ Oh, I wish that I had been saying ‘Yes.’ ”
“But Mr. Brown, it is not too late. Jesus is ‘able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him’ (Hebrews 7:2525Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)). Uttermost will surely reach as far as you—as far as now.
“ ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). That ‘whosoever’ must mean you as well as me. Won’t you say now, ‘Lord Jesus, all my life I have been saying “No” to Thee, but now I will say “Yes.” Yes, Lord, I believe.’ ”
This was Harry’s last conversation, for during that night he slipped away to be with Christ. Old Mr. Brown did not live much longer, but his state of mind and heart were completely changed. He took God’s promise and invitation as addressed to him personally, and often he was heard repeating softly, “Yes, Lord, yes.”