The young Scottish preacher had been walking across the moors for hours, but now the sun was setting and the village was still far away. He was a stranger in this part of Scotland, with a wonderful message in his heart. It was a message too good to keep to himself - the good news of Jesus, the Saviour of sinners.
Asking God to show him where to go, he turned his steps toward a lonely house, hoping he might find shelter for the night.
At first no one answered his knock, though he could hear a scurry of footsteps inside. Then the mother opened the door, just a crack, to tell him that her husband was away, and he must find some other place to spend the night.
Was his prayer not answered?
He had not gone very far before a boy of about 12 caught up to him and said, almost in a whisper, “You can go to the shed for the night.” Thankfully, the young preacher followed him back to the shed.
It was a filthy place, used by animals and beggars, but he found a spot in the corner clean enough to sit down and rest his head against the rough corner wall. He prayed there, thanking God for His Son who gave His life for him. He also prayed for the family in the nearby house, as well as for his own weary bones and empty stomach.
In the little house, Robert set the candle on the table and said, “It’s dark early tonight, Mother.”
Grandma looked out the window. “There’s a fog rolling in over the moors,” she said, “and it shuts out the light.”
“Oh,” cried the mother, “we should never have turned that young man away . . . he will be lost in the fog.”
“He isn’t lost,” said Robert. “I told him he could go to the shed.”
“Go at once and bring him in,” his mother said.
At that moment, the young preacher awakened from an uneasy sleep and remembered the story of Joseph in the Bible and how he was brought out of prison and stood before the king. As he thought about this, the door creaked open and a lantern shone into the darkness. Robert invited him to come into the house.
When he entered the little kitchen he was greeted with eight welcoming faces and the warm smell of supper stew. He felt as though he had been brought from a prison into a palace, just as Joseph had.
The children were pleased to see him. Best of all, they were eager to listen when he read the Bible and prayed, and explained to them God’s way of salvation. Four of them received Jesus as Lord and Saviour that night, but not the old grandmother. It was harder for her, because she had her own ideas of what God required in order for her to be accepted into heaven.
“I have prayed,” she said. “I have been a good, faithful wife and mother. Will God be pleased with me?”
The young preacher read the words from Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23) to her, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
“I have been a sinner sometimes,” she said, “but Jesus died for us all. Isn’t that enough?”
The man turned to Romans 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9) and read, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” “That’s very personal, isn’t it? Not just for us all, but one at a time.”
But somehow Grandma could not see that Jesus must be her Saviour personally, or she would be left out of heaven forever.
Not then, but later, Grandma did accept the Lord Jesus as her very own Saviour too.
And that’s what happened on that foggy night. Has this happened also in your life and in your home?
ML-08/15/1993