May 23

Andrew Stenhouse tells of a furlough trip from Chile on the Sydney Star, a frozen-meat ship. It had only a few passengers, one an Englishman named Smith. After a botched surgery, he was returning home in a sick-berth cabin. “I asked if he had any hope for eternity. He answered, ‘None whatever.’ I explained God’s way of salvation and I told him about the dying thief. The next day, he had too much pain to concentrate. I said, ‘I’m going to leave you one verse,’ and repeated John 3:16. On the third day, he greeted me with a smile. I asked, ‘Do you see anything clearer today?’ ‘Yes, decidedly so! It was those words: “should not perish.” Now I have something to hold onto!’ His faith never faltered; he died a few days later. On arrival in England, we contacted his wife and told her the story of his conversion. She was a praying believer.” If she had only received official news of his death, would she have thought her husband had perished? “Judge nothing before the time” (1 Cor 4:5).

Today’s Reading: Job 30-32 Memorize: Matthew 20:28
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