The Salvation of Charles Spurgeon

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Mark 12:43-44 “And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”

God does not look so much at how much we do, but what we do with what we’ve got. Being faithful in the small things is what matters. I recently read the testimony of Charles Spurgeon. Now, that guy was a real legend! It has been estimated that he preached to over 10 million people in his lifetime! What’s more, his sermons have been read by an estimated 50 million people in 23 different languages! There is no doubting the fact that he was an enormously gifted individual who also worked hard to be faithful to his calling. I have no doubt that he will be greatly rewarded.

But in reading Spurgeon’s life story, there was someone else who really impressed me. Someone who didn’t have Spurgeon’s gifts and abilities, he didn’t have the same opportunities… in fact, no one even knows his name! Yet I think when the rewards are handed out way up yonder, this man will be greatly rewarded… possibly even as much as Spurgeon himself. You see, this man lead Charles Spurgeon to the Lord. A snow storm blew so hard that particular Sunday morning that the minister didn’t even make it. In all, about a dozen people turned up at a little Primitive Methodist Chapel and in the end, a very thin looking man went up into the pulpit to preach. The text was “Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” He bungled the pronunciation. But Spurgeon recorded the opening –

“My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says ‘Look’. Now lookin’ don’t take a deal of pains. It ain’t liftin’ your foot or your finger; it just says look. Well, a man needn’t go to college to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn’t be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. But then the text says “Look unto me”. Ay! Many on ye are lookin’ to yourselves, but it ain’t no use lookin’ there. You’ll never find comfort in yourselves. Look to Christ. The text says ‘look unto me’.”

Now, this man wasn’t a “minister”… he was believed to be a shoemaker! There was only a small group and others may have called the meeting off. But this man gave an impromptu sermon that morning that lead to the salvation of Charles Spurgeon. And in doing so, he proved himself faithful in the small things and will be greatly rewarded. It is a true story which we can all learn from.