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
"You must think of God's goodness," and he read: "Come unto me, all ye that
labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you,
and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest
to your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." And then he
read Heb. 10:39: "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but
of them that believe to the saving of the soul."
"O Edwin!" his brother cried, "why is it that we have never heard of these
things before? Surely God has sent you to us."
As a large revival was being held in the city at that time, they all
decided to attend, and at the meeting and with Edwin's help the brother and
his wife were gloriously saved.
When the meeting was over, Edwin was urged to prolong his stay. This he
did, and he spent a few weeks very profitably in helping his relatives to
become established and to learn how to study the Bible that had so long
been only an ornament in their home.
His sister also was deeply impressed with the wonderful things that God had
done for Edwin, but she was the mother of several small children, and her
life was such that she thought that she was unable to make the necessary
sacrifices. Edwin read to her from the seventh chapter of Matthew these
words of Jesus: "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I
will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the
rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock." Then he explained
to her about the house that fell, but she only answered: "No, Edwin, it is
of no use. I can not live it now," and thus Edwin left her feeling her need
but unwilling to yield.
From his sister's home Edwin returned to Mrs. Kauffman's, where he was
again treated with the greatest affection and respect. As he told of his
experiences, his kind friends were deeply interested as well as astonished
at the manner in which he had succeeded in his brother's home, and Mrs.
Kauffman thanked God for so wonderfully answering prayer.
Learning that Edwin was again in the neighborhood, the farmers with whom he
was acquainted did their best to engage him to work for them, but to all he
said: "No, not yet. I have not satisfied my mind. I am still a guest in the
home of Mrs. Kauffman, and since they are satisfied to have me stay, I
think that there must be more things that God would teach me from his Word,
so I will study my Bible for a while longer."
Baptism was the next subject that bothered him. During his recent visit
with his mother he had learned from her that, as an infant, before he was
taken to the poorhouse, he was baptized; but he had read in his Bible, "He
that _believeth_ and is baptized, shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). "No infant
could believe or reason anything about the Lord Jesus," he told Mrs.
Kauffman, and he asked her advice about having the work done again.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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