WE had stepped into a street car, and seeing a few persons there, I was reminded of a few tracts that I had in my pocket, and I gave them each one, a gentleman and three ladies. The car moved on, and they proceeded to read them. The title of the tracts was, “Which line are you in?” I will quote a little from them. “Then in plain language, you are not yet saved?”
“No, I could not take it on me to say that, was his reply.
“I see. But if you are not saved, have you found out that you are lost?”
“Lost? Me lost? No, God forbid! I shouldn’t like to think that I was lost.”
“Well,” I argued, “that is strange. You are not saved, and you will not own that you are lost.”
“Certainly not. Of course I am not good as I ought to be—no one is—but I am respectable and religious; that is, I go to church now and then; and though I can’t say that I am saved, I shouldn’t at all like to think that I was lost. Because a man is not saved, it surely does not follow that he is lost.”
At that moment the shrill whistle of a railway locomotive, about to move in the Station nearby, disturbed the midnight silence of the air.
“What is that?” I exclaimed, hoping to get him to a subject which would just illustrate my point.
“That is the whistle of a railway engine.”
“So I thought. By the way, can you tell me how many lines there are on a well conducted railway?”
“Two, of course.”
“And what do you call them.”
“The up and the down.”
“Exactly so. Now tell me, did you ever see a man with one leg in an up train, and the other in the down.”
“No, of course not, and I never expect to. If a man is on the rails at all, he is either in the up, or in the down train; he can’t be half in one and half in the other.”
“I quite agree with you, and now I would just ask. Which line are you on? You are either an unbeliever or a believer. If still an unbeliever, you are in your sins, and steadily going on your way towards death, judgment, and the lake of fire—the awful terminus of the down line. If on the other hand, you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are certainly on the up line, and soon will find yourself in the glory to which the Saviour’s blood brings every redeemed sinner at last. Now, be honest with yourself, Which line are you on?
This appeal laid hold of his conscience, and after a moment’s silence, during which I saw he was convicted, he replied, “I admit your illustration is very apt; I never thought of it in that way before, but I must see to the matter in the future.”
The car bell rang and it stopped, the gentleman with others rose to leave the car. On stepping to the door, he returned the tract to me, and said, “Thank you sir, I am on the line with Jesus.” Seeing that we did not quite catch his words, he said, “I am on the line with Jesus.”
This simple, but public confession of the name of Jesus, sent a thrill of joy through our hearts, and as we dwelt upon the words, and as they echoed and re-echoed in our ears, we could only bless God for the honor put upon that name which is above every name, the name of Jesus. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts. 4:12.
Beloved reader, let me in closing ask you, in the language of the title of the tract, Which line are you on?
ML 11/03/1918