A little boy, nine years old, went one night with his father to a Gospel preaching.
As they walked along the country lane, the father said, “Now, Johnnie, I want you to pay great attention while I am speaking, because in the address I mean to mention your name.”
“My name! father, what shall you say about me?”
“O! you must wait, my boy, till you hear the address.”
So Johnnie fixed his eyes upon his father, and listened very quietly till the service was over, when, as they were walking home together, he said:
“Father, you forgot to mention my name.”
“No, Johnnie, I said it more than once. Walk quietly along. Now try to understand what I mean.”
After walking in silence for some distance, the little boy said softly, “I think I know what you mean, father. Was it when you said ‘sinner’?”
“Yes, my dear boy, for that is indeed your name.”
I don’t think Johnnie will ever forget that walk, and the nice talk he had with his father.
Do you, reader, know your name? Perhaps you are not aware that both your name and address are put down in the Bible; but such is the fact, for your name is sinner, and your address is the world, and both are mentioned in the verse at the head of this chapter.
But there are so many children who do not know their names, like the little boy, three and a half years old, who took up the Bible and said:
“Shall I read to you, auntie?” and then pretended to read as follows:
“God—says: —I — am —a—wery—dood —’ittle—boy.”
Now the little fellow could not read at all, having invented this in his own brain, but his aunt soon stopped him, saying:
“You are quite wrong, for God says you are a very bad little boy.”
You see he did not know his own name. Do you know your name?
Now I will tell you a very sad story of a lady, who went to have her photograph taken. After taking the portrait, the photographer was surprised to find that a number of little black spots came on the face.
He tried again, but with the same result. The lady could not understand it at all, but after two days she became very ill with smallpox, and in a week was dead. She had the disease, and did not know it, but the bright light of the sun discovered the black spots lurking beneath the skin. And I have known the bright light of God’s Holy Spirit to show to thousands of boys and girls that they had the dreadful disease of SIN lurking in their hearts—a deadly, soul-destroying disease.
Now some children look upon SIN (say the sin of disobedience, or the sin of telling lies, or the sin of being selfish or ill-tempered) as a little trifling matter. But God’s word teaches us that SIN is a very horrible thing indeed, and in the sight of God is far worse than the terrible marks of smallpox.
Listen, then, to the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. It is a faithful saying, a true saying, and worthy of all acceptation. Will you accept the great salvation now? Will you send up the earnest prayer, “God be merciful to me a sinner?”
ML 11/10/1918