The Poorhouse Waif and His Divine Teacher: A True StoryByrum, Isabel C. (Isabel Coston)
Religion
The Poorhouse Waif and His Divine Teacher: A True Story
Byrum, Isabel C. (Isabel Coston)
Christian life -- Fiction; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Fiction
The brother had heard through the mother some things about Edwin's
stupidity, as she called his extreme ignorance (for which she was herself
to blame), and he had also heard of Edwin's willingness to suffer cruel
punishments and unjust blame. "But," the mother had also said, "with all
his block-headedness, he has never done anything to compare with what
Elmer, his cousin, has done to make me ashamed."
It was therefore with real interest and curiosity that the brother received
him into his home, and he was shown much kindness by his brother's wife.
When Edwin explained how wondrously he had been led and taught of God, the
brother was astonished, for he could see that all Edwin had said was very
reasonable and sensible, and he wondered why he had never thought to search
out some of the things for himself. The brother's wife as well was greatly
interested, and when Edwin read and explained the verses from his
well-marked Bible, they were both convicted and exclaimed:
"O Edwin! what must we do to get this great salvation?"
Immediately Edwin turned to Acts 16: 30, 31, and read the jailer's words to
Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" and Paul's answer,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved, and thy house."
He then explained that Jesus came to seek and save the people from their
sins and that he went about preaching the glad tidings of salvation, after
which he gave his life upon the cross that their salvation might be
possible.
Next he read Isa. 55: 6, 7: "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call
ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will
have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
"To forsake sin," Edwin explained, "is to stop doing anything that one
knows to be wrong, like stealing, lying, swearing," and he named over a
number of other things. "By the power of the will it is possible for any
who have formed such habits to stop doing the things that are wrong, but
before a person can really be delivered from sin, he must be very sorry for
having disobeyed God. That sorrow is repentance if the person is sorry
enough to ask God to forgive him and to cleanse him from all
unrighteousness."
Edwin did not tell them that it had always been his desire to do to others
as he would be done by, for to him this had been only his privilege and
duty to mankind, and he fully realized that before he was converted he was,
with all the rest of humanity, in a sense separated from God. Instead he
said:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account