ruined. No governor can sign a docu ment that’ll take away the m isery and shame I ’ve brought upon my fath er. How can I fa c e him?” Undaunted, the detective handed him another piece o f paper, urging, “H ere, this one is from your fa th er.” In a few moments, tears w ere in the man’s eyes, fo r he read, “My d ear boy, the m iserable debt is all paid. The governor has pardoned you. Your old fa th e r has never ceased to love and long fo r you. I freely fo r give you. P lease come home to me.” His days, w asted in sin and m isery, were ov er; he had a rea l pardon. Even though this is a touching story, it fa d es into insignificance when we rea l ize what the L ord Jesu s Christ has done fo r us. The B ible tells us, “God commendeth H is love toward us in that while we w ere yet sinners, Christ died fo r us.” “There is th erefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Je s u s ; who w alk not a fte r the flesh but a fte r the Spirit.” SINCERE BUT WRONG Some very unusual problems were experienced by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Woods o f Dagenham, England. R etir ing from his job as a jan itor o f the F ord plant there, he and his w ife had saved frugally so that they could take a trip to Texas, visiting relatives they hadn’t seen since World War II. The first leg o f their journey took them from London to New York aboard the Queen Mary. Then they headed fo r the airp ort and the plane trip to Texas. Soon the two eag er travelers were air borne and on what they sincerely sup posed was a flig h t to Dallas. A fter an hour or so in the air, Mr. Woods tried to strike up a friendly conversation with the man across the aisle. “Where are you flying to?” he asked. Quickly, the reply came, “London”. Mr. Woods nodded approvingly, thinking there was probably some little town near Dallas named London. “Quite a coin cidence,” he pointed out to his w ife. But the more they thought about it, the more grew their concern. His worst fe a r s were confirmed by talking to the stewardess. Returning to his seat, he explained to his w ife, “Mother, we’re ’eaded back to England.” It took three Atlantic crossings, about a dozen press interviews, and some 14,000 m iles a fte r leaving their home, before Mr. and 28
One of the lovely spots on the Biola Campus is the Rose of Sharon Prayer Chapel presented by a former student in memory of his bride of only a few months who died of leukemia. The small chapel is an excellent place for spiritual refresh ment as students desire to draw away from the busy streamof campus activities for fellowship with the Lord.
A FATHER'S PARDON As the only son o f a prosperous New England fa rm er, a young man turned from his home with disdain and con tempt as did the prodigal in the long ago. His money was soon gone, wasted on a life o f carousing and dissipation. Becoming desperate, he forg ed several large checks in the names o f his f a ther’s friends. On his way to prison he escaped and headed west. H eart broken, his fa th e r spent what money he had left, making good his son’s fo rg eries and then seeking a pardon from the governor. F in ally successful, he got a private detective to try to find his fu gitive son. The trail led to San Francisco and a small flophouse room over a tavern. When the sleuth entered, the escaped crim inal thought he was being app re hended to be returned to jail. He put up a tremendous battle until the unfor tunate detective could explain, “Wait, you don’t understand. This piece o f p ap er is your freed om ; it’s the govern- or’s pardon. H ere, read it fo r yourself.” The scuffle stopped, but a fte r reading the important note, the man tore it to pieces, explaining, “What good is this? Sure, I m ight not have to lan guish in jail, but my ch aracter is still
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