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W.P. Mackay left home to attend college and medical school at the age of seventeen. His mother was a very godly Christian, and upon his departure she gave him a Bible, writing her name and his, and a verse of Scripture inside the cover. But the son had no use for his mother’s God or for the Bible she had given him. He did not consult its pages; and soon after, while drunk, he pawned it in order to purchase more alcohol.

His studies at school engrossed him, and the Bible was forgotten. Eventually he graduated with high honors and took a good job at a large hospital. He became very rich, and could afford to follow every desire and lust he had. All the while, he boldly denounced God and the Bible.

After a while, the only thing that seemed to give him a thrill at all was when an ambulance would unload a dying accident victim or when a patient came under his care whose condition was so critical that the chances of survival were very slim. This allowed him to pit his skill against a situation that his colleagues would declare impossible. If the patient pulled through, it only gave Dr. Mackay another opportunity to boast of his skills to the other doctors. But God was about to deal with him, bringing the doctor to his senses in a remarkable way.

One day an accident victim was brought to the hospital, the lower part of whose body was crushed and horribly mangled. In spite of this condition, on his face was a serene look of peaceful calm so unusual that it amazed Dr. Mackay who was accustomed to seeing people suffer.

“What’s the diagnosis, doctor?” asked the patient with a smile.

“Oh, I guess we’ll pull you through,” replied Dr. Mackay.

“No, doctor, I don’t want any guess,” the man said. “I want to know if it is life or death. Just lay me down easy anywhere, doctor. I am ready. I am not afraid to die, because my trust is in the precious shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He paid the penalty for my sins at Calvary.” His face radiant with Christian love, the patient continued, “I know I am going to be with the Lord Jesus Christ if I have to die. But I would like to know the truth; just what is my condition?”

“You have at the most three hours to live,” was the answer. Hardened as he was, Dr. Mackay could not but feel sympathy for the dying man. “Is there anything special you would like us to do for you?” he asked.

“Thank you,” said the man. “In one of my pockets is a two week’s pay check. I wish you would send it at once to my landlady, and ask her to send me the book.”

“What book is that?” asked the doctor.

“Oh, just the book,” the man answered. “She will know.”

Dr. Mackay arranged for the man’s request to be carried out and then started on his rounds through the hospital. But those words kept ringing in his ears—“I am ready, doctor, just lay me down easy, anywhere. I am ready.”

Dr. Mackay had never been known to inquire about a patient for any personal motive, but for the first time in his life he wanted to know how this one was getting along. He returned to the ward where the injured man had been placed, and seeing the nurse whom he had assigned to the case, he asked her how the man was.

“He died a few minutes ago,” the nurse informed him.

“Did he get the book?” asked the doctor.

“Yes, it arrived shortly before he died.”

“What was it, his bank book?”

“No, it wasn’t his bank book,” said the nurse.

“It’s still there, though, if you want to look at it. He died with it under his pillow.”

Dr. Mackay went to the bedside, reached under the pillow, and pulled out the man’s book. It was a Bible. As he picked it up, the Bible opened, and there in his mother’s handwriting was his own name, his mother’s name, and a verse of Scripture. It was the Bible given him by his mother, when he left home to attend college—the one he remembered selling. Overcome with shame to think that he had despised it so, he slipped the Bible under his coat and rushed upstairs to his private office. There he fell upon his knees and asked God to have mercy upon his soul.

All his life he had known through his mother’s teaching that Christ alone could save and keep. In repentance now, he accepted Christ as his own personal Saviour and came into the realization that God was his Father, the Lord Jesus was his Saviour, and Heaven was his Home. As soon as he, by faith, placed his burden of sin on Christ’s atoning blood, the Holy Spirit entered, he was born of God, and was filled with joy and peace.

God had His eye upon that Bible, and directed events to bring it back to the person to whom it was first given in order to lead him to Christ. After thanking God for saving his soul, the doctor’s first thought was to write his Christian mother, and tell her the soul-stirring news. Needless to say, she fell upon her knees, praising God for the salvation of her wayward son.

Someone is praying for you. Perhaps someone in your family, an affectionate friend, or maybe someone you don’t even know. But above all, GOD LOVES YOU—and He sent His Son, all the way from Heaven to earth, on your behalf. Won’t you trust Him now as your Saviour?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

“Whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). This is the last warning from the last book in the Bible. Dear reader, be warned thereby, and flee from the judgment and wrath to come.

Like Dr. Mackay, come to the Lord Jesus Christ as a repentant sinner, and cast yourself upon His mercy, believing in your heart that He died for you and rose again. This is the remedy you need. Do it now and know the peace Christ gives, both now and forever. —L.H.

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