THE princely Elector of his day once invited Dr. Martin Luther to take part in the royal hunt. Luther would rather have roamed the harvest fields with his wife and family instead, but he thought it not well to refuse royalty in this way.
When all was ready, the horns blew, and the hunters galloped away into a day filled with sunshine. Rabbits, deer, and other wild life bounded through the fields and woods, with men and dogs in pursuit. Unnoticed by the rest, Luther fell back at a distance, dismounted and sat down by a hedge. It had been agreed at the outset that at the close of the day the hunters would assemble under an oak at the edge of a wood, when the bugler’s blast indicated the hunt was over.
Last of all to arrive was Luther. One by one the hunters related their adventures and displayed the game they had brought down. When it came to Luther’s turn, one of the men asked him, “And what did you succeed in bringing down, Doctor?”
“A rabbit,” was his prompt reply. Whereupon Luther opened his coat, and pulled out a frightened little bunny. “I took it in, as it was calling for its mother,” he went on. “I shall take it home as a pet for my little boy.”
The gracious prince here shook Luther’s hand warmly saying: “A strange and wonderful man, you are, Doctor Luther. Such an iron will as yours welded to such a tender heart brings us music whose strains will be heard for centuries.”
Luther’s heart was but a faint but true reflection of the tender sympathies of his Blessed Master, the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ,
“Whose heart is filled with tenderness,
Whose very name is Love.”
How sweet to behold the Saviour in His life on earth taking to His very heart tried, hunted, lonely, unfortunate outcasts, the suffering victims of sin and Satan’s power! He healed all that were oppressed of the devil; disease and death fled before Him. Sinners, confessing their sins, found welcome and refuge in His bosom. He wept over Jerusalem, that guilty city which rejected the pleadings of Infinite Love. Think of Him weeping over the doom of the lost!
Dear sinner friend, the Lord Jesus is more concerned for the salvation of your soul than you are yourself. He longs to have you take refuge under His protection, even as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, for it is written, “God our Saviour;... will have all men to be saved.” 1 Tim. 2:3,4; and “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37. To neglect, to spurn, to refuse His love will spell your doom forever.
“To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Heb. 4:7.
ML-03/06/1966