Number 3. Little George.
THE story I have to tell you today, is a very sad one, but perhaps it may lead some child to consider, what is meant by this verse, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” In our everyday lives, this is just what we expect. If you sow carrots in your garden, you do not look for beets to come up. And if you think a little about it, you will see that it is the same in everything; for example, mother tells Freddy not to touch the fire. One day when she is out, he amuses himself burning bits of wood and paper. Presently the little fingers are burned. Now what has Freddy reaped? He has reaped the fruits of disobedience. He may be very sorry for his naughtiness, and his kind mother may freely forgive him, but that will not cure the sore fingers. No, sin must always bring, sorrow, and no matter how deep our repentance, we cannot undo what has been done.
What a blessing it is to feel and know, that however bad we have been, God is always willing to forgive us, for the sake of His dear Son who has been punished for those very sins, if we only come and freely tell Him all about it, for He has said, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John 1:99That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9).
But I must begin my story, and tell you of poor George, and the sad trouble sin brought upon him.
He was a bright, clever boy, brought up in a Christian home, and early taught about Jesus. He had no difficulty in learning any thing that came in his wad, and when he was twelve years old, he had gone through all the classes of the country school he attended. There was no more advanced school in the neighbor, hood, so George’s education came to an end. However, as he did not like to be idle, he begged his father to allow him to take a situation in the “general store” of the village in which he lived. It was quite a large store, and many different kinds of things were sold in it; groceries, dry goods, school-books, harness, china, and many other articles. On one shelf stood a number of bottles containing various kinds of candy, and there were also boxes of biscuits, and sweet cakes.
George’s employer was very kind to him. He was pleased to get such a quiet, bright boy, and also one who had been brought up so well, and when George asked one day if he might have a candy, he laughed and said, “Yes, certainly, but do not take enough to make you ill, and do not take the ones I have packed away in these boxes.”
Now, George had never had much candy, and he was particularly fond of it, so he lost no time in making acquaintance with all the bottles on, the shelf. But my story is growing so long, I think I must wait until next week to tell you the rest.
ML 07/15/1906