The Personal TouchChapman, J. Wilbur (John Wilbur)
Religion
The Personal Touch
Chapman, J. Wilbur (John Wilbur)
Evangelistic work; Salvation -- Christianity
Too much cannot be said in favour of reaching the young while they are
in the days of their youth. Recently in an audience of 4500 people I
found that at least 400 of the audience came to Christ under 10 years
of age; between 10 and 12, 600; between 12 and 14, 600; between 14 and
16, about 1000; between 16 and 20, fully one half, and in the entire
audience not more than 25 people came to Christ after they were 30
years of age. Five hundred ministers were in the same audience. The
majority of them were converted before they were 16 years of age; 40 of
them between 16 and 20; and only 15 out of the 500 ministers were
converted after they were 20. This in itself is an unanswerable
argument in favour of personal work for the young.
The lad is here now before us, but he will soon be gone. Boys quickly
grow into manhood. As a rule religious influence weakens as they pass
on, while the power of sin increases. Many young men would turn to
Christ if they thought they could, but it seems to them that the
attraction towards evil is almost, if not quite irresistible. I
recently heard a Christian gentleman speaking before a great audience
in London. He was telling of his going over the Alps in the care of a
trusted guide. As they came to one of the most dangerous places in the
journey his guide stopped him, and said, "Do you see those footprints
off here to the right?" The gentleman said he did, plainly. "Do you
notice," said the guide, "how they get farther and farther apart?" And
when asked to give an explanation he said that a week before a young
telegraph operator had attempted to cross the mountains without a
guide, that just at the place where they were standing his hat blew
off, and, without thinking, he reached out after it, lost his balance
and started to fall. In trying to recover himself he started down the
mountain to the right. The way was all covered with snow; when once he
started he could not stop; farther and farther apart were his footprints
until at last they were lost on the edge of a great abyss. He had gone
over to his death. It is thus that young men go to destruction. Because
they do, we ought to be instant in season and out of season in seeking
to arrest their downward progress.
When Jesus took the loaves and fishes in the possession of the lad and
brought to bear upon them his own marvellous power, the results were
great. No one realises what is being accomplished when he assists or
influences a boy. I am wondering what that minister, who led Spurgeon
to Christ, thinks of his work now that he sees it from the heavenly
standpoint, and I have many times thought I should like to ask the
business man who spoke to D.L. Moody about his soul, what estimate he
puts upon the importance of the work he did that day. To win a boy to
Christ may be to turn towards the Master one who may one day move the
world for Christ.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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