Riches of grace : $b A compilation of experiences in the Christian life; a narration of trials and victories along the wayByrum, E. E. (Enoch Edwin)
Religion
Riches of grace : $b A compilation of experiences in the Christian life; a narration of trials and victories along the way
Byrum, E. E. (Enoch Edwin)
Christian life
On Saturday morning about sunrise I was on a straw stack in the barnyard
with a long hay-knife cutting across the stack to loosen the straw to
feed the cattle. While thus working and in a despondent, meditative
mood, wondering what I could do, there seemed suddenly to float out
before me in the air in illuminated letters, "John three sixteen." I
began to read, "God so loved the world." I reasoned then that God so
loved me that "he gave his only begotten Son." All was clear thus
far. Then I came to that all-inclusive word, "whosoever." I stopped at
"whosoever" and recalled the story I heard of Richard Baxter, who said,
"I would rather have the word 'whosoever' in John three sixteen than
have Richard Baxter, for then I should at once be tempted to believe
it was for some other Richard Baxter."
I reasoned, "I know that my name is in that 'whosoever.'" I then
read on--"believeth on him." "Do I believe on him?" This was the next
question to be settled. During several years I had, in competition for
a Sunday-school prize, recited the whole four Gospels. In thought I ran
over what the New Testament said about Jesus and cried out, "I believe
every word of the gospel; Lord, I do believe."
Then I read on--"should not perish." Quick as a flash I saw the weak
place in my faith. I had been believing on Jesus, but feeling that I
should perish. At that point I sprang to my feet on the straw stack and
read it over again--"Should not perish, but have everlasting life." Then
I saw that through doubt I had treated the promise as though it read
"should perish and not have everlasting life." I cried out, "Lord, I
will reverse it no longer. I will believe it as it reads."
Then I seemed to have another inspiration. I had long been troubled
about understanding what it meant to believe. I had worked out a theory
that if I could for a moment forget everything else in the world and see
Jesus on the cross, that would be "exercising saving faith"; and when
praying, I would find myself trying to do that. I now asked myself this
question: "How do you believe your mother's promise?" The answer was
at once, "I believe because I believe in my mother, the promiser." The
next moment I realized that believing Mother's promises was not a mental
effort and struggle such as I had been going through for years, but a
mental rest. I just believed that her promise was true without any effort
whatever, not because I felt it, but because Mother made it. Then I
cried, "Jesus made this promise, and I believe it."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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