Walking in Cheapside, London, a gentleman was accosted by a stranger flourishing in his face a ragged book, which had been torn to pieces, and stuck together by the help of stamp edging. " You are the man; you are the man," were the words uttered with great vehemence, that astonished this gentleman.
What did it mean? The gentleman accosted was the late Sir Stevenson Blackwood, in his day Secretary to the Postmaster General, a well-known evangelical Christian gentleman.
It appears some months previously, when traveling on the top of a bus from London to Croydon, he had begun to talk about the affairs of the soul to a fellow passenger. Why should this lead to surprise and indignation? We can speak about affairs relating to this life, and no surprise or indignation is shown. Why should this topic be the one to be banned, and thrust completely into the background? Surely what relates to the soul is infinitely more important than what relates to the body. What relates to eternity demands surely more attention than that which relates to time. And yet, and yet!
Another passenger overhearing this conversation became highly indignant, talked loudly and rudely about " canting hypocrites," rose from his seat, and left the bus in anger.
The pocket of his coat was open, and as he passed along Sir Stevenson Blackwood adroitly slipped a little book, entitled Eternal Life, into his pocket.
On arriving home in due time this gentleman found this book in his pocket, guessed who had placed it there, and in a rage, tore it into little fragments, flinging them into the fender.
The next day he spent the day in the city in the usual round of business. Returning home in the evening, to his disgust, he found the fragments of the torn-up book neatly placed on his toilet table In anger he rung the bell violently, and demanded of the maid, " Why had the pieces not been destroyed? " She replied that in gathering up the pieces she had read the word, Eternity, on one of them, and did not like to destroy them.
When the maid retired something caused this gentleman to put the pieces together in order to see what was said about eternity.
And well he might. Blind indeed must men and women be who are concerned only about this little fitful life, so soon to be over, and not to be concerned about the eternal future. The mind reels when contemplating eternity. Unending ages of ages Shall it be Heaven or Hell forever and ever?
When the gentleman read the book he had in his anger torn into shreds, he was arrested and, thank God, truly converted. He carried the
patched-up book for months hoping to meet the gentleman he had insulted, and who had returned good for evil by slipping this messenger of peace and hope into his pocket with such very happy results.
As Sir Stevenson Blackwood was a man of strikingly handsome appearance, he was able to recognize him and to confront him in the way we have described, greatly to Sir Stevenson's delight.
And now what about yourself? Have you got eternal life? Eternal life is a gift. " The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord " (Rom. 6. 23). What can you do with a gift? You cannot buy it or earn it, or else it would riot be a gift. You must in faith receive it. Remember it is " through Jesus Christ our Lord." It is through what He did at Calvary's cross, when He endured the wrath of God against sin, and made atonement by His precious blood. You may receive this wonderful gift even here and now, if you will accept the Lord Jesus as your own personal Savior. " If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved " (Rom. 10. 9).
God means every word we have quoted from His precious word. Why not study them very seriously and make sure you have the blessing of the Lord, which maketh rich, and addeth no sorrow.