"I wonder, Harry, that you are not afraid to die; I am terribly afraid!" were the words of an old man to a little boy, who lay on the next bed to him in a large ward of one of our city hospitals.
Harry was about eleven years old; his fevered cheek, too-bright eye, and quick breathing, telling plainly that his short life was fast nearing its end.
Mr. Clayton, a Christian visitor, had just been pressing on the old man an immediate acceptance by faith of pardon and eternal life, as the free gift of God's great love in Christ Jesus.
"I know it all," he had replied, "but I do not understand how I can get it, how I can make it my own.”
"How did you get it, Harry?" the visitor asked, turning to the child.
"Why," said the boy, "when the Lord Jesus said to me,
`Come unto Me . . . and I will give you rest' (Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)), I just said with all my heart, 'Yes, Lord, I come,' and He was true to His Word, and gave me rest. And when He said, 'Come now,' I just said, 'Yes, Lord, now; not to-morrow.' 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,'
for I knew He could not break His Word.
How could I say 'No' to Him?”
Tears filled Mr. Clayton's eyes as he listened to these simple words of unquestioning faith.
"Yes, Thomas," he said, "Harry has told us the truth; it is just saying 'Yes' or 'No' to God's own Words. It must be one or the other. It is a solemn thing to know, if we are not saying 'Yes' to His gracious invitations, and to His blessed promises, we are saying 'No, Lord, I do not believe Thee.' 'No, Lord, I will not come to Thee!'”
After praying with them he left. Just as he did so, the old man himself turned to the child to know why he was not afraid to die.
"I have nothing more to tell," said Harry, "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, " 'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee' Isa. 43:22When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (Isaiah 43:2). And, I just say, 'Yes, Lord; yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me' Psa. 23:44Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4). He says, 'It is I, be not afraid' (John 6:2020But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. (John 6:20)), and I say, 'Yes, Lord, I am not afraid.'”
"You are right, Harry. I have been saying 'No' all my life to His gracious words; but it is too late now. I wish I had known before that it was just that—saying 'Yes' or 'No'. O, that it had been 'Yes' that I had said!”
"But Mr. Brown," said the child, "it is not too late;
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. Will you not now say,
`Lord Jesus, all my life I have been saying "No" to Thee, but now I will say "Yes"? Yes, Lord, I believe Thy Words, that whosoever believeth shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Yes, Lord, I believe.'”
The sick boy was exhausted through the very earnestness with which he had told out the glad, good news. They were his last words, for when Brown awoke in the morning and turned again to speak to the boy, the bed was empty. During the night Harry had quietly passed away to be with Christ.
Old Brown's days were not much longer. Very different, however, was his state of mind after that last conversation he had with Harry. He took promise and invitation as addressed to him personally; and often, as the precious words were repeated or read, you could hear him say, "Yes, Lord, yes." The unbelieving "No" was no longer his utterance he received God's Words with a grateful "Yes," and when his last moments came, his words were those of the aged Simeon:
"HE IS ABLE
ALSO TO SAVE THEM
TO THE UTTERMOST
THAT COME UNTO GOD
BY HIM.”
"HIM THAT COMETH
UNTO ME I WILL IN
NO WISE CAST OUT.”
“COME UNTO ME ALL
YE THAT LABOR AND
ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND
I WILL GIVE YOU REST.”