JOHN SLATER was a thoughtless young fellow, who cared little about God and much less about the need of his own soul. He and his friend Jack were boon companions in worldly pursuits and ungodly pleasures. But John had a dear Christian mother who prayed much for her wayward boy.
John and Jack went to South Africa to seek their fortune. They did not go into the diamond mines, but set up a sort of a general store nearby. However, in spite of hard work the young traders failed to make good.
John’s appeals to his father at home brought him some cash from time to time, but at last a letter came to say that he must not expect any more money. The two friends decided after much disappointing effort that there was nothing to do but to sell out and return home.
Their store was a large hut-like structure of corrugated iron, hung on the inside with yards and yards of white cotton. Their goods were displayed on a large, heavy counter and the boys slept on the shelves underneath at night.
They had considerable stock unsold so they made arrangements to have an auction sale. The goods were tied up in bundles on the counter ready, but having a day to wait bore the sale, they decided to spend the time at the race track nearby.
Up to this time they had lived without hope and without God, their only recreation being what the world calls “pleasure.” Wandering about the race track they were greed by a stranger who asked them to accept a gospel tract. This they did with usual contempt for such things, not knowing the power of the written Word. As John glanced at his tract, he saw that it spoke of “the end of the world.” “The end of the world, indeed—,” he exclaimed with a laugh.
After a tiring day the friends returned home and retired to bed under the counter.
That night one of those fearful subtropical storms swept down upon the sleepers. The night was brilliant with lightning, not in flashes, but in a blaze that seemed as if it would consume the earth. It was as if the world was on fire. John remembered the tract, and thought that perhaps the end of the world really had come. Further sleep was out of the question and the two fellows lay trembling under the heavy counter, the only place of protection from the storm.
The wind increased to a mighty roar and soon the corrugated roof was swept away in the night. The long strips of cotton flapped and shrieked wildly in the blast. The bundles of goods were caught up by the resistless wind and scattered bond recovery all over the countryside. Filled with fear, afraid to speak, one thought alone agitated John’s mind: it was “the end of the world.”
It was not the end in the sense he dreaded, but it was in the sense of it being the end of the life he had hitherto lived. John there and then resolved to seek the Lord if happily he might find mercy and forgiveness for his sins.
Jack, however, had no such intention, and the next morning after the storm subsided, the two friends set out for home. There was no auction, for there was nothing to sell. Crestfallen and ashamed the two young fellows made their way to the coast with only just enough money to pay their passage home.
John was under deep conviction of his sins and when he got home his sister took him to a little gospel hall several times. Then one Sunday for a change she took him to a very plush church. But the service only jarred John’s spirit. There was nothing in the sermon to meet the hunger of his soul, so soon after the service began, he left the church, much to the disgust of his sister. He ran all the way to the little gospel hall, and there that evening he came to the Lord and was truly saved. He made a decision for Christ that night from which he never went back. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Cor. 5:1717Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17).
John became a faithful evangelist, and in after years he often preached in the same hall where he was saved. He used to point to the pillar behind which he made his great decision to accept Christ and follow Him.
What the Lord did for dear John Slater, He would love to do for you, dear young reader, if you are still unsaved.
ML-09/03/1972