Sunday, December 9, 2007

Not all "romances" are junk, after all

Just wanted to share this excerpt from Grace Livingston Hill's "A Girl To Come Home To".

It seemed to Diana as they penetrated into the green depths of that lovely woods, that she had never seen such beautiful quiet remoteness.

Rodney made a delightful escort. He found pleasant walking for her feet, and when they came to rest while he arranged a seat from hemlock branches, and when they were seated in the beautiful stillness he finally said, looking into the greenness above him, where little glimpses of sunlit blue sky were visible:

"Isn't this great? It seems as if this must be one of the places in which God delights, doesn't it? It seems as if He were here with us. Or-- don't you feel that way?"

Diana looked up fearsomely, and half shuddred:

"Oh," she said in a little frightened tone, "I don't know much about God. But you --" she paused and gave a shy look toward the young man, "you seem to know Him so intimately." Her tone was almost envious.

Rodney looked down and smiled:

"Yes, I do," he said pleasantly, as if he were owning to an earthly friendship, "but no better than you may know Him too, if you want to. I was brought up to know all about God when I was a child, but I didn't get to know God until I met Him out in the air over enemy fire."

"Oh!" said Diana. "Tell me about it please, if you don't mind."

Rodney smiled. "No, I don't mind. I love to talk about my Lord. Since I've met Him and know Him so well, it gives me great delight to talk about my Lord."

And so he began to tell the thrilling story of how he started out in his own strength to fight the enemy, and began to realize that Death was waiting just ahead for him, and perhaps the end of things down here. And then as he drew nearer and nearer to his doom, he heard the Lord calling to him through all the thunder of shells and planes. And the words he called were the same words he could remember his father reading at family worship... They were words that God spoke: "Fear thou not: for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

... "And over and over again when I grew fearful, there was my Lord beside me... And that's how I came through. Do you wonder that i feel I know Him, that I can talk with Him as if a man were talking with his friend? He's my friend!"

There were tears on Diana's cheeks as he was telling this.

"Oh that is wonderful!" she said. "But does one have to go through death to know Him?"

"No, oh no! Not if you will take Him without having to be shown that way."

"But you were taught when you were very little. You sort of grew up knowing Him, didn't you?" There was almost a hunger in Diana's tone.

"Yes, I knew about Him. I knew His history, the story of His life and death, and that it was for me, but I never took it to my heart until Death drew near, and I had to fly for refuge. Many times at home when I was young I might have got to know Him, and didn't. I just couldn't take time. I knew it was all true, but I'd never looked into His face before. Not until He took me up there in the sky alone with Himself and menacing Death just below, and all around. Then I looked up, and I saw Him. But that is something that cannot be described. You have to see Him yourself to understand. You have to know Him."

"Oh!" said the girl disappointedly. "Then I'm afraid there is little likelihood that I could ever understand. I can't go overseas and get into combat."

"No, you're wrong," he said. "You don't have to go overseas to see Him... If you long to find Him He will come to you. The only condition is that you believe. That is, believe that He took your sin, and took your place and suffered your death penalty. Take Him for your personal Savior, that is. Are you willing to do that?"

"Why yes. I could believe because I have seen the faith in your face, I have heard it in your words, and in your wonderful prayer. Is that the right kind of belief? Because I don't really know much about Him, only the set stories that churches talk about, and I never paid much attention to them before. But I'd like to know Him now."

"That's great!" said Rodney with a joyful ring in his voice. "Shall we tell Him so?"

They were sitting on a smooth bank of lovely moss, under a great tree. The young man bowed his head, and Diana, awed at what might be coming, almost frightened again, bowed hers.

"Lord Jesus," said Rodney in his conversational tone, "I'm brining this little girl to You because she wants to know You and says she will take You for her Savior. Please show her how You love her, how she needs You, and to understand what You have done for her... will You let her see You as You are, and get to really know You, and love to serve You in her daily life.

And now will You listen to her while she tells You waht is in her heart? Thank you, my Father."

There was a long pause in the still greenness of the woods, while a thrush trilled otu some high sweet notes of praise, and then Diana's little frightened voice trembled on the air:

"Dear God, I want to be saved. I want to know You, as Rodney does. Won't You please show me how? I do believe, as far as I understand."

Into the silence that followed this brief prayer came Rodney's ringing Amen, and after a moment of silence he reached over and took her hand in a strong firm clasp.

"Welcome into the family, little sister!" he said tenderly. She looked up into his eyes and her own were filled with tears of joy, and there was a smile on her lips....

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