Part 3.
JOHN still had to bear occasional annoyance from some of the sailors, but his chief persecutor, James Evans, now quite let him alone. A great change had come over this man which every one noticed. He was no longer in high spirits as formerly, but sat apart, dull and dispirited. The captain was very pleased to see his attentive behavior, too, at daily prayers, and sometimes tried to talk to him; but he could get little out of him as he was a man of few words.
They had not proceeded far when a violent storm came on; the ship was in great danger, and after they had done all they could to save her, the captain assembled the sailors all together and offered up a prayer to God to deliver them. This prayer was answered; the storm gradually ceased, and they were enabled to get the ship into the nearest harbor and have her repaired.
They then set sail again, but one on board never got over that storm. James Evans had been injured by a falling mast, and he was never well after. Now he slowly got worse, and one Sunday he tried to get up but could not. Captain Layton, hearing of his illness, went down to him after morning prayers, accompanied by John. Evans was lying in his hammock suffering great pain, yet he had a happy expression on his face: but when he saw John he looked distressed.
“Ah, my lad,” he said? “I have injured you, but you will forgive me before I die. You are a good lad, and in trying to hurt you I have done myself good.
“What do you mean?” said John, wondering.
“Do you know this?” asked James; and he drew from under his pillow John’s treasured Bible, his Sunday-School reward. He then told them how he had first stolen the Bible to annoy John, and had hidden it away; but one day, out of mere curiosity, taking it out to read, he opened upon the Fifteenth Chapter of Luke, and when he read about the prodigal son, all his home teaching came back upon him. Like his captain, he had had a godly mother; and now the grace of God brought to his memory the prayers and teaching he had heard in boyhood. He felt what a grievous sinner he had been; and the more he read the stolen Bible while on shore, the more he felt his sinfulness. When he came again on board he was under deep conviction, but on the night of the storm he got peace. God’s goodness in answering the captain’s prayers and bringing the ship safely into port went to his heart. He got power to look to Christ, whose precious blood cleanseth from all sin; and believing in Him his sorrow was turned into joy. He now asked John’s forgiveness, and begged him to let him keep that precious Bible until he died. John gladly granted both requests, and with tears in his eyes exclaimed, “O, how my dear mother will rejoice when she hears this.”
“Ah, lad,” cried the dying sailor, “and so will mine when she sees me enter through the golden gates. I never thought to go there, but to be shut out forever and ever! Ah, but Christ’s blood has washed away my sins, and now I can die happy.”
He soon got rapidly worse; at last, one Sunday evening he gave back the Bible to its owner, bidding him show it to sailors wherever he went, and tell them what it had done for him. Then he bade good-bye to his shipmates, begging them, too, to read the precious Bible, and pointing them to Christ. With his last breath he praised and blessed God for the gift of Christ, and for the word that had made Him known in the power of the Spirit to his soul, and so fell asleep, a sinner saved by grace. Thus the Sunday-School scholar’s reward proved by grace a blessing, not only to himself, but to others also. Through his obedience to his mother’s request’ he was used of the Lord as an instrument in His hand of bringing both his captain and his shipmate, James Evans, to Christ; and “that day” alone will declare how many more may have had cause to bless God that ever that little boy stepped on board that ship with his Bible in his hand, determined to read it at all cost, because his mother told him.
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord.”
John always stayed with his godly captain; rose till he became chief mate and then when Captain Layton became too old to go to sea, he took his place as captain of the vessel. He always took his Bible with him, and read it night and morning to his sailors. Nor did he ever forget his mother, but supported her in comfort till she died.
ML 01/21/1917