# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1887_S11 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. 11 “1 Cannot Get Away From God.” - Not many years since, a young coachman | was living in a gentleman’s family, near Lon- ‘don. He had good wages, a kind master, and a comfortable place, but there was one thing which troubled and annoyed him. It was that his old mother lived in a village close by, and from her he had constant visits. You may wonder that this was such a trouble to him; but the reason was, that whenever she came, she spoke to him about Christ and the salva- tion of his soul. “Mother,”’ he said at last, ‘‘I cannot stand this any Jonger. Unless you drop that subject altogether, I shall give up my place and go out of your reach, when I shall hear no more of such cant.’’ ““My son,” said his mother, ‘‘as long as I have a tongue, I shall never cease to speak to you about the Lord, and to the Lord about you.” The young coachman was as good as his word. He wrote to a friend in the High- Jands of Scotland, and asked him to find him a place in that part of the world. He knew that his mother could not write, and could not follow him; and though he was sorry to lose a good place, he said to him- self, ‘Anything for a quiet life.’ His friend soon got him a place in a gentle- man’s stables, and he did not hide from his mother that he was glad and thankful to get out of her way. You may think it was a pity she thus drove him to a distance. Would it not have been wiser to say less, and thus not lose the opportunity of putting in a word in season? But she believed, in her sim- plicity, that she was to keep to the direc- tions given her in the word of God—that she was to be instant, not in season only, but also out of season. And true it is that the foolishness of God is wiser than men. The coachman was ordered to drive out the carriage and pair the first day after his arrival in Scotland. His master did not get into the carriage with the rest of the party, but said he meant to go on the box instead of the footman. “‘He wishes to see how I drive,” thought the coachman, who was quite prepared to give sat- isfaction. Scarcely had they driven from the door, when the master spoke to the coachman for the first time. He said, ‘‘Tell me if you are saved!’’ Had the question come to the coachman direct from heaven it could scarcely have struck him with greater consternation. He felt simply terrified. ‘‘ God has followed me to Scotland!?’ he said to himself. ‘‘I could get away from my mother, but I cannot get away from God!?? He could make no answer to his mas- ter, and scarcely could he drive the horses, for he trembled from head to foot. His master weht on to speak of Christ, and again he heard the old, old story so often told him by his mother; but this time it sounded new—it had become a real thing tohim. It did not seem 'to him then to be glad tidings of great joy, but | a message of terror and condemnation. He felt | that it was Christ, the Son of God, whom he| had rejected and despised. first time that he was a lost sinner. Name of the Good Samaritan. Oberlin, the well-known pastor of Steinthal, He felt for the| while yet a candidate for the ministry, was By the! traveling on one occasion from Strasbourg. It time the drive was over, he was so ill, from the | was in the winter time. The ground was deeply terrible fear that had come upon him, that he| covered with snow, and the roads were almost could do nothing more. For some days he could | impassable. He had reached the middle of his not leave his bed; but they were blessed days| journey, and was among tbe mountains, and to him. His master came to speak to him, to} read the word of God, and to pray, and soon the love and grace of the Saviour he had re-} jected became a reality to him, as the terror of | the Lord had been at first. He saw that there was mercy for the scoffer and despiser: he saw | that the blood of Christ is the answer before | God even for such sin as his had been, and he now felt in his soul the sweetness of those blessed words, ‘‘ We love Him because He first loved us.’’ He saw that Christ had borne his by that time was so exhausted that he could stand up no longer. He was rapidly freezing to death. Sleep be- gan to overcome him; all power to resist it left him. | yielded to what he felt to be the sleep of death. He commended himself to God, and He knew not how long he slept, but sud- denly became conscious of some one rousing him and waking him up. Before him stood a wagon driver in his blue blouse, and the wagon not faraway. He gave him a little wine and punishment, and that he, who had tried to/ food, and the spirit of life returned. He then harden his heart against God and against his} helped him on the wagon and brought him to “}fe hath loved us and hath given Himself for us.” own mother, was now without spot or stain in the sight of that God who had so loved him as to give for him His only Son. The first letter he wrote to his mother was to tell her the joy- ful tidings, ‘‘God has followed me to Scotland, and has saved my soul.” —_—s -e<— o> Found Out. “During the rule of Cromwell, a knight and his minister had a quarrel. While the dispute was pending, this knight, a certain Sir John, fancied that the minister preached at him, as he called it, every Sunday. So he complained of him to Cromwell. ‘The preacher denied the tharge, saying he had but done his duty, and had only preached in general terms against drunk- ards, liars and thieves, and defied Sir John to instance any particular allusion to himself. Af- ter Cromwell had attentively heard both par- ties, he said: ‘Sir John, go home and live in good friendship with your minister; the word of the Lord is a searching word, and I am afraid it has now found you out.’”” the next village. The rescued man was profuse in his thanks, and offered money, which his benefactor refused. “‘Tt is only a duty to help one another,’’ said the wagoner. ‘‘And it is the next thing to an insult to offer a reward for such a service.”’ “Then,’’ replied Oberlin, ‘‘at least tell me your name, that I may have you in thankful remembrance before God.”’ “'T see,” said the wagoner, ‘‘that you are a minister of the Gospel. Please tell me the name of the Good Samaritan?” ‘«That,’’ said Oberlin, ‘‘I cannot do; for it was not put on record.’” “Then,” replied the wagoner, “until you can tell me his name, permit me to withhold mine.’’—From the German. —_———2- ~