An Early Harvest

My Father, Fred Horrobin, was ten years of age when he went to hear a children’s evangelist speaking at a local church for five nights.
There was no transport and as Fred walked the two miles home, along country lanes, a battle was being fought for his soul. He knew what he wanted to do, but he was battling with another voice telling him what he would miss if he gave his life to Jesus. The battle was still being fought as he climbed into bed.
But when morning came he was sick. He was too ill to go to the final meeting. So he wrote a little letter to Hudson Pope telling him he wanted to know Jesus, but didn’t know how. The message was delivered by hand. The evangelist could easily have sent a message back saying he would pray for him. But Hudson Pope was a harvester – the time had come for gathering the crop! He knew this was a critical moment in young Fred’s life.
So Mr Pope set out on that cold winter’s day to walk the two miles to go and visit Fred. He was determined not to cause any spiritual hindrance in Fred’s life. He didn’t want anything to stand in the way of one small boy finding Jesus for himself. And so, sitting by the sick boy’s bed, he gently led Fred to the Saviour, and at the age of ten my Father’s salvation was secured.
Hudson Pope didn’t consider his own tiredness or personal interests as important. Gathering the harvest was what mattered to him. Helping children come to Jesus was his life’s calling.
I still have that letter my father wrote – with Hudson Pope’s handwriting at the bottom confirming the day on which my dad was born again. He was only a child, but his salvation was totally real. For the rest of his days he served his Saviour and, as a result, I, too, came to faith in Jesus at the age of nine. I remember kneeling by my bedside with my dad and inviting Jesus into my heart. How I thank God for Hudson Pope’s diligence in sharing the Gospel with a young boy and introducing him to Jesus.
Action Line: Make a list of all the young children you know personally, especially members of your family, and start praying for them to find a real faith in Jesus while they are young.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for seeing the potential in every child. I pray especially for all the children in my own family that they will come to a personal faith in Jesus at an early age and choose to serve the Lord all their days.