Then it was her
turn to look anxiously into the boy's face. Had her poor Jack understood
the picture?
Yes, he had understood; and his next question showed that he was thinking
earnestly of what she had told him.
Pointing to the crowd of people, he said they were "_many_, very many"; but
the Man who come to die instead of them was "_One_, only One"; and then
again he asked, "What? what?" in his eager way.
How should this question be answered? How should Jack be shown that while
all in that crowd of people had sinned--all "come short of the glory of
God"--the Holy One who came to do God's will and to give Himself a ransom
for them, had glorified Him on the earth, and finished the work which His
Father had given Him to do?
His teacher did not now draw a picture; but she made one in another way.
There were some dead flowers in the room; taking a pair of scissors, she
cut them up into little bits, till they lay in a brown heap on the table.
Jack watched her do this, and then he saw her take from her finger her gold
ring, and lay it down beside the brown heap. Pointing to the dead flowers,
she said, "Many"; pointing to the ring, she said, "One"; and then asked,
"Which will you have?"
With a laugh of delight, Jack made her see that he understood this picture
also. The brown heap of worthless, withered flowers was like that crowd of
people--"many," but all bad; the ring, all of gold--only "one" thing, but
so precious--was like Him who died to save them; and over and over again he
spelt, "One! One!"
Then presently, as the thought came to him that he, Jack, was in that
crowd; that he was one of the "many" for whom that holy One had given
Himself, his heart was full; he burst into tears, and looking upwards he
spelt again, "Good One! good One!" and ran for the box of letters that he
might learn His name.
Pages:
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197