JAMES LANG lived in a town by the sea. When he was eight years old a bad fever came to him. It took away all his strength. It laid him up in bed for three years. During those years James Lang had many sad thoughts about himself. He knew that he was not so good as he ought to be. He knew also that he never could be thoroughly good till Jesus came into his heart. Sometimes he would say to himself, “I am so bad, Jesus will not come into my heart.”
In the autumn of the third year James became very anxious about his soul; and he made a resolution that he would pray without ceasing until the Lord Jesus came into his heart. So he set apart a week in the month of October, and began his praying with the beginning of the week. He prayed that Jesus would make him good. He prayed that Jesus would save his soul. He said, “Come to me, dear Saviour, and take up thy abode in my heart.” He told the Lord how he had been longing to be good. and he cried, “O Jesus, I am willing to let Thee into my heart. Do not refuse to come because I have not been so good as I ought to have been. Come now and make me good.” And still he did not find that Jesus had come in. He was weak and faint, and almost dead with sorrow. He could not rest, nor eat, all that day. “Take some dinner, James,” his sister said. “No,” he cried, “I will take nothing; nothing, but a bit of the bread of life.” Then he got out of bed, and went forward to the fireside and fell on his knees. The poor boy prayed for hours that day; and ever his prayer was, “Blessed Jesus come into my heart.” And that very night his prayer was answered. Jesus, who had all the while been waiting to come in, put in His hand and helped the anxious boy to open his heart.
“Have I only to believe that Jesus died for sinners?” he said to his sister; “is that the way to open the door? And is that all I have to do?”
“That is all, James,” replied his sister.
Poor James had been waiting till he could be worthy of Christ; he had been thinking that his heart must be better before Christ would come. He did not see till that night that Christ is the Saviour who comes near sinners to save them. But that night he saw it, and he believed, and opened his trembling, sinful heart, and the blessed Saviour entered in and peace flowed through his heart like a river.
Christ may come knocking at your own door some day with fever in His hand. Do not forget in that case that the fever knock is also a Christ knock. Fever on the one side, love on the other!
ML 02/27/1916