p. 6 | Tact in Seeking Souls

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 19, 1866

Tact in Seeking Souls.

EVERY Christian should study the art of leading sinners to Jesus. Love to Christ will make a Christian desire to save souls, but will not necessarily give him skill to do the work. That he must acquire by thought, prayer, observation, and practice. This remark is suggested by an incident which I have just met in my reading.

A pious physician had access to a jail, and tried to minister both to the souls and bodies of his patients in prison.

One day he pleaded with a murderer to seek pardon. He urged all the motives of the gospel to repentance he could command, and threw his whole soul into the plea. The murderer was cool and obdurate; excused his crimes by quoting the example of David, Solomon, and other Scripture characters. In fine, he said "I don't know that I have much to repent of."

This from a murderer was terrible. The physician left his cell thinking the case hopeless.

Anxious, however, to do all he could, he invited a dear friend—an aged, devoted man—to visit him. The old man consented; and when, after some time, the doctor again ventured into the cell of the murderer, he was surprised to hear him say:

"Doctor, you don't understand your business. You come here to do good—to benefit the souls of us poor prisoners; but you don't go about it right. You always urge me to 'repent'—to 'repent;' but, doctor, do you suppose there is one poor fellow in this prison, who doesn't know he must repent if he would be saved? That dear old friend of yours that you left behind, understood his business. He came here, sat right down by my side. He looked, indeed, like a really good man. With a look full of tenderness he said to me, 'John, wasn't it gracious goodness on the part of the Almighty that he should have loved us so much as to send his only begotten and well-beloved Son into the world to save such sinners as you and I.' Why, doctor, that word I killed me dead. I couldn't get over it. That the holy, venerable man should put himself on the same level with me—a vile murderer, neither fit to live nor to die! I can not keep it out of my thoughts. It is working its way to my heart."

How great is the value of tact in soul-seeking! The doctor's direct appeal only stirred his depravity. The old man's indirect but adroit address, mingled as it was with exquisite tenderness, conquered him. The doctor was faithful, but unskillful, and failed; his aged friend was both faithful and skillful, and he prevailed—he was wise to win souls.

Seek this Divine wisdom, Christian; so shall thou win many to righteousness. Dost thou need motive power? Get more love to Christ, until thou canst busy thyself in the work, saying, "The love of Christ constraineth me." Consider also "that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his ways, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." Alas, alas! that we should take so easy the destruction of souls around us, and sometimes even "the destruction of our kindred!"