THE CHILDREN’S WITNESS

Thankfully, many children in many lands have heard of the Lord Jesus and have looked up to Him for salvation. They have proved for themselves the scripture that "every one whosoever, who shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved". But the question then arises as to whether His name has been confessed as well as called upon. A wartime incident of many years ago will illustrate the point. On a battlefield lay a wounded soldier likely to die of his injuries. He noticed a surgeon-officer passing nearby and was able to call out to him for help. The doctor dismounted from his horse, attended to the man giving all possible relief and undertook to have him taken to hospital. On being asked his name the surgeon replied 'O, no matter'. 'But, doctor’, said the wounded man, 'l want to tell them all at home who saved my life'. This was a sign of real gratitude and does not the Lord Jesus deserve as much from you?

The martyrs are a great example of the way in which witness to the Lord was able to spread the truth at a time when to many it must have seemed hopeless. But they were really the victors and indeed were more than conquerors through Him whose personal love they enjoyed. There was all the power of God to support their testimony. No doubt the stoning of Stephen prepared the conscience of Saul of Tarsus to bow to the will of the Lord Jesus, with untold gain to the testimony. Hundreds of years later a martyr, looking on the crowd around, exclaimed, 'Behold the harvest! O Master, send forth Thy labourers!'.

The world is morally a very dark place and Christians are lights in it when Christ is their life. The life is the light. Travelling by train on a dark moonless night we can tell that we are passing by a village because we can see the cottage lights which are a witness that life is there. At this time of year many young people will have new associates in the office or workshop where they need to make a stand for the Lord Jesus. It is an encouragement that Jesus said that "Every one therefore who shall confess me before men. I also will confess him before my Father who is in the heavens". ls your name amongst these?

J.C.Evershed