“I WILL”
Four of us sat one on each side of a square table in a small parlor. We were three young men and myself; two of them now lie in soldiers’ graves in France. We were not there to shuffle cards or crack jokes, or even discuss the topics of the day; we had graver business in hand. These three young men had attended, on the night previous a Gospel service, and there had been awakened within them a desire to hear more of the way of salvation, for they felt they were not right with God. It was interesting and remarkable that each of them, close friends as they were, had been similarly affected, and when they discovered this at the close of the service, it made them all the more eager for an interview. And so we arranged to meet at a friend’s house and talk things over.
They had many difficulties which they freely aired; for instance, they were all three fond of sport, and they wanted to know whether if they yielded to Christ they would get something that would please them more. I assured them that the Lord Jesus was brighter and better than the brightest and best that the world could give. They were afraid, too, that if they became Christians they would have a hard time with their chums; they would be laughed at and scorned, and would probably lose many a merry mate, I assured them that the best friend to have is JESUS, and that they would be worse than fools if they allowed the jeers of godless men to keep them away from Him whom they knew they needed the most. There were a good many other questions; but all these, one by one, were answered, and they were brought to own candidly that they were sinful men; that they would have to meet God about their sins, and they were not ready. They went further, and acknowledged that they wanted to be ready, that they had talked the matter over, and had decided to ask me to help them.
If was easy then to tell them of the Savior who died for sinners, and so for them; who shed His precious blood to cleanse away the sins of guilty men, and so to cleanse theirs away. I told them that the Savior who died for them was now a living Savior, for He had been raised from the dead, and that He claimed their confidence, and all that remained for them was to yield themselves to Him in simple faith.
The leader of the three was sitting opposite to me, and he broke in upon my talk by saying, “What’s the use of talking to us about believing in Christ: how can we believe in Him unless God’s Holy Spirit makes us? I tell you I can’t believe.”
I replied, “I am afraid it is not a question of can’t but won’t. But suppose you could believe in Jesus. Will you suppose that
“All right, I will,” he said.
“Well, now, suppose you could believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, WILT THOU HAVE THIS Savior TO BE THY Savior, NOW?”
I looked into his eyes, and his friends looked eagerly into his eyes, and we waited for his answer. After a pause I repeated the question, “Wilt thou have this Savior to be thy Savior, tonight?”
The dear fellow’s eyes filled up with tears, and he stretched his hand across the table, and took mine in a warm grip, and replied.
“I WILL.”
And with that decision every difficulty disappeared, his anxiety departed, he was saved, and saw it so clearly that his friends were astonished. One of them made a clear decision too; I could not be sure about the other. But this was plain enough to them all, that it was the “I will” on their part that was needed.
The Lord Jesus has said His “I will,”
And God has said, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. IF YE BE WILLING” (Isaiah 1:18, 1918Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: (Isaiah 1:18‑19)).
Nothing could be plainer, and when a sinner feels his need of the Savior, and is ready to say “I will” to Him―to the Lord Jesus Christ―the great transaction is forever done.
“WHOSOEVER WILL LET HIM TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY”