“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.” (Matt. 13:44)
THINKING OF A MAN FINDING HIDDEN TREASURE by happenstance reminded me of the famous English preacher Charles H. Spurgeon’s conversion. One Sunday morning in January 1850, a bad snowstorm forced Spurgeon to cut short his intended journey and stop at a Methodist chapel in Colchester. The regular minister must have been snowed in at home because a local businessman went up to the pulpit to preach. Unprepared, he repeated Isaiah 45:22 over and over.
Barely ten minutes had gone by when the stand-in preacher couldn’t think of much else to say. He then fixed his eyes on Spurgeon and said, “Young man, you look very miserable and you always will be . . . but if you obey [this text] now, this moment, you will be saved.”
Spurgeon, shocked to be pinpointed in this way, had to agree despite his embarrassment. “I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away,” he said. At that moment he saw the way of salvation and his despair transformed into joy. Later known as the “Soul Winner,” Spurgeon inspired thousands upon thousands with his heartfelt sermons; his writings are still published today and continue to change lives. The elation he felt after stumbling upon that treasure of a thirteen-word sermon changed him and the world for good, forever.
Share your joy of salvation with someone today.
Susan Browning Schulz is a Bible teacher, wife, and mom of three grown children. She lives on the Etowah River in Northwest Georgia and loves leading her church small group.
© 2018 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
