June 30

At the Point of Death

There cometh one of the rulers ... and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death — Mark 5:22-23

There is nothing like trouble to drive people to Christ. So long as things go on prosperously, many men do not ask any favours of Him; but when sickness or great need comes, He is the first to whom they turn. This is one of the most obvious uses of trouble. God stirs up many an earthly nest in which his children are reposing to softly, that they may be compelled to try heavenward flights. There are many in heaven now who would never have left the old earthly life had not God sent troubles, sorrows, and adversities.

This father said his little daughter was “at the point of death.” This is one point to which every one must come. The paths of earth run in very diverse ways, but they all pass at last the “point of death.” It is a point that lies hidden from view; no one knows the day of the hour when he will come to it, and yet somewhere along the sunny years it waits for every one. Sometimes this point is struck in early youth. Here it is a little girl of twelve that lies “at the point of death.” Even the children should think about dying, not as a sad and terrible thing, but as a point to which they must come, and for which they should prepare.

It is a touching sight to see this father falling at Christ’s feet. The strongest men break down when their own children are sick or in danger. A man may seem very cold and stern as he carries his load of business, or makes his struggle with the world, or presses toward the goal of his ambition. You think he has no tenderness in him — that he is a man of iron or rock. But let one of his children be stricken down, and the man of iron melts like wax. Behind his stern aspect and all his severity there is a warm spot in his heart where he is gentle as a woman.