THE CHILDREN'S SECRET
Every Christian believer has a secret knowledge of the Lord Jesus derived from the way in which light as to His work and Person has shone into the soul. It is a grace which we all receive and, whilst we are always glad to share with one another our appreciation of Christ, yet the gift is unique to each one.
The girl of twelve years old who, in the silence of seeming death, heard Jesus saying to her "Child arise" must have had such a secret. That cry would mean far more to her throughout her renewed life than to the other five persons who heard it, although the majesty of the voice would always ring in their ears too. She could afterwards tell them how she became aware that His mighty yet gentle hand had taken hold of her powerless one, but to them it would never be quite the same.
It is open to every child to hear the voice of the Saviour. To have the help of His hand may be proved in spirit by each one when we are only weak but without any strength at all. No one was to be told what had happened and this may seem strange, yet it does but stress the inward and private side of the knowledge of Jesus. Perhaps too it was meant to keep the dear child from drawing attention to herself instead of to Him!
Previously to this incident and at a nearby place Jesus had restored a young man to life with the few words "Youth, I say to thee, Wake up". In this case the miracle became as widely known as the other was kept hidden. The testimony was such that God was glorified by it and Jesus magnified in the eyes of all the people. One great and joyful crowd going along with Jesus towards Nain met and mingled with another large but very sad crowd coming with a weeping widow out of the city. Then by obedience to the word of Jesus the youth, a moment before unresponsive, had made them all rejoice together. What a happy secret this must always have been in his heart!
Even lifeless things can hold a secret. I often wonder how many out of the millions of people who pass by Cleopatra's Needle on the Thames Embankment in London realise that a valuable treasure is hidden there. When the column was erected copies of the Bible in four languages were placed in the pedestal together with one very well-known verse in two hundred and fifteen languages! Learned men say that the obelisk, first built in Egypt, may have been there as far back as the time of Exodus. But God's purpose for the believer on His Son goes further back even than time itself. Can you think what that verse of Scripture is and recite it?
J.C.Evershed