“Mother, may I have a puppy for my very own?”
Little George had often asked this question, for he loved dogs. But George’s mother had very little money, and had never been able to buy one for him.
“Perhaps some day, George.”
“But I saw the nicest ones today in Dr. Graham’s yard, and I thought I might earn enough money to buy one myself.”
Mother smiled, for she knew that Dr. Graham’s puppies were worth a great deal of money, but she didn’t like to discourage her boy, so she just smiled at him and said nothing.
Every little job that George could find, he did diligently so that he might earn enough money to buy a puppy.
He told his plan to his little friend Bob, and together they worked and saved until they thought they had enough to buy two puppies.
One day, just as the doctor had been taking care of his pups, two little heads appeared at the gate.
“Good-morning, Doctor, may we come in?”
“Certainly, boys; did you want to come and look at these fine puppies of mine?”
In a moment both the boys were in the yard, and were quickly surrounded by lively, friendly, little dogs.
“Please, Doctor, we brought along fifty cents that we have earned, and we would like to buy two of your best pups.”
The good-hearted man smiled at the boys. His dogs were worth many times that amount, but the eager faces of those boys touched his heart, and he carefully picked two of the very liveliest and friendliest of his puppies. One was put in George’s arms, and the other in Bob’s, and I wish you could have seen the picture. The dogs wriggled and licked the faces of the happy boys, while the lads just beamed with delight. One thing was left to be done.
“Here’s your money, Doctor, and thank you very much.”
“No, I don’t sell puppies for fifty cents a pair, but sometimes I give them away. You just take these dogs home and be good to them.”
Now let me tell you of a gift that is of far more value than George’s and Bob’s puppies. And it cannot be bought with fifty cents or fifty dollars, although many people have tried to buy it. It is worth so much that nobody could bring enough to buy it, so it is offered as a free gift from God.
God saw and knew just what you and I needed most, and He knew that we could not buy eternal life so He has offered it to you as a gift of His love. His own beloved Son paid the price with His precious blood at Calvary. Accept God’s gift now and you will be saved forever.
ML 09/13/1953