The Messiah as told to Anne Hazelton
meet such an one. I had heard his story and the recounting of what he had suffered and the way he had ac cepted it had thrilled my heart; so much so that I set out for Pittsburgh at once, to meet such a witness. When Morris Reuben had been converted, his brother had been so bitter that he had had him certified insane and p l a c e d i n an i n s a n e asylum. There seemed to be no one to stand by him, none to investigate such charges in those days. His wife left his home and took their children with her. It looked as though belief in Christ had certainly cost him every thing one might hold dear. But a Pittsburgh business man heard of the case and began to work for Morris’ release from the asylum. Undaunted by his unjust treatment at the hands of his brother, Morris began witnessing — not secretly — but openly, for the Lord Jesus Christ as soon as he was released from the asylum. It was dangerous but he braved the anger and recriminations of his own people to bring the Good N ews o f s a l v a t i o n to them. God worked for him, even to restoring his family. His wife was led to return to her husband and shortly after that both she and the children were con verted and joined him wholeheartedly in his witness and work. When I arrived at their home, he was just setting out for a street meet ing. When I had explained my pur pose in coming, he invited me to go along to the meeting to give my testi mony. I accepted with alacrity. I had never attended a street meeting but I was ready. That meeting was just like Heaven to me. Oh, the crowd was rough; now and then a tomato or an egg would come sailing through the air, but that couldn’t spoil my joy! A policeman stood by always to keep the crowd from actually harming the Jewish missionary. And I was so tick led to stand out there and to testify for the Lord that the tomatoes and eggs didn’t bother me in the least — not even when they found their tar get. I had a wonderful time and though it was nearly fifty years ago I still remember it as though it were yesterday, because it was my first ex perience. How little I knew then that through such meetings and the further experi ence I gained as I lived in their home and went about with this Jewish mis sionary in his work that God was giv ing me the first steps in preparation for a future work — not the business work in which I was well established — but a work for Him wholly un dreamed of, far acoss the continent. (T o be Concluded Next Month)
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“ You have!” I exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pumping it up and down in my joy. “Well, so have I!” We had a regular love feast that afternoon as we told each other our stories. All my contacts after conversion were not such happy ones. In our church there were some people who made it hard for me and there were relatives who were very angry at my step. The Lord in such a tender way had prepared me for this trial, though. Long before I had known Him, I had bought a new home and it wasn’t until after I was converted that I learned the location where my house stood was called Zion H ill. Just think! The Lord had put me there — on Zion Hill — and I was saved there. H e h ad a l s o g i v e n us Christian friends, even before we fully appre ciated them. A mother and her two daughters lived nearby and through them and the tracts they brought us, the Lord showed me that I was not to look to people but to God. God had put us there because we were to go through trials and there were those who understood and could help us. The first person I really knew I helped to find the Lord was my wife’s niece. She was a Catholic as my wife had been. She came to live in our home to continue her violin lessons in the city. We told her of our conver sions and witnessed to her, praying much that she might be led to know Christ, too. One night at midnight she called us and a few minutes later she knelt and accepted the Lord as her Saviour. As any truly born-again child of God wishes to do, she wanted to tell others, especially her parents. They were very angry and the letter we re ceived soon after that contained but one sentence: “ If you ever come to our home, we will kick you out for what you have done to our daughter,” it read. They never changed in their attitude. Except for my sister, I had not, since my conversion, met another of Jewish faith who had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. When I heard of a converted Jew in Pittsburgh who was on fire for the Lord, even to becoming a missionary to his own people, I thought how wonderful it would be to
two Catholics and two Jews, had be come new creatures through Christ Jesus our Lord. And on June 22, 1902, we four redeemed children of God went down into the waters of baptism, and thereby confessed to all who saw, that we had died and risen again with Christ. Now attendance at the Ninth Street Baptist Church took on new meaning. Now I could sing through all the hymns and found special joy in sing ing where I had been silent before: “ The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.” No longer was there any desire to hide that precious Name. But while savoring every moment of our new life and the happiness of our home circle, I had a great desire to be out witnessing particularly seek ing out other Jewish people to whom I could tell the wonderful news. I had such a deep abiding joy in my own salvation that I wanted everyone else to know my Saviour, too. I wanted to witness to my friends with whom I had formerly spent much time in worldly pastimes. I thought sadly of some of the young fellows I had known as a boy. “ If I had only known the Lord then and could have told them of Him, they might have lived,” I thought as I remembered how young some of them were when they had died, victims of debauched lives. “You won’t keep it up very long,” they jeered, “now that Dan’s got re ligion we won’t see him any more.” They were right. Soon I had lost contact with them. They were uncom fortable in my presence if I didn’t join in with their garries and I knew I could no longer continue in those things. But one day I met another of the fellows I had not seen since my conversion. I approached him with some trepidation, I must confess, re membering the jeers and taunts of the other fellows. Before I had time to think how I should begin, he hailed me and hurried toward me with out stretched hand. “ Dan!” he shouted, not caring that others on the street turned and stared. “ I’ve got news for you. Something has happened to me. I want to tell you about it.” “What is it?” “ I have accepted the Lord as my Saviour and . .
FEBRUARY, 1959
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