Nine Years Old!
Luke 15:1-32
Illustration
by Carveth Mitchell

While visiting in the hospital I met a little nine-year-old girl who was a patient. I thought I recognized her name, so I asked her if she was the little girl by that name who went to our Sunday church school. She replied, "No, Sir. I don't go anywhere to Sunday church school."

I told her who I was and said, "While I'm here perhaps we could have a prayer."

She replied, "That would be fine, but I don't know any prayers." Nine years old!

I said, "What I meant was that I would offer a prayer for you."

She replied, "That would be fine. No one has ever prayed for me before." Nine years old!

Of course, I followed up on that little girl. In the house on one side of her home lived a family nominally members of a major Christian denomination. In the house on the other side lived a family nominally a member of another denomination, and two of our own families lived in the same block with that little girl. That little girl also lives in your city and perhaps in your block - no matter where you live - and the Jesus who told about the sheep and the coin asks us, "Do you care?"

CSS Publishing Company, The Sign in the Subway, by Carveth Mitchell