Phil glanced up at the wall. "It looks nice up there," he said. "Only—" and he hesitated.
"Only what, boy?"
"How it does show up the wall all round."
"Well, that's what Rob said; it's too clean for my place."
Phil was silent for a moment, and then sitting down, he said, in that queer, old-fashioned way of his, "I think that's what God's Word generally does, Mr. Jasper; it shows us up. Mr. Armstrong said the other day that we don't find out how filthy sin makes us until we see what God says about it in His Word. Every wrong thing we do or say leaves a stain upon us, and then, when we put our lives alongside of God's Word we find out how filthy we are; and so I was thinking, you didn't know how dirty your old wall was until Rob put up the clean text. And perhaps, Mr. Jasper—" and Phil hesitated, as though afraid of saying too much.
"Well, lad, what is it?"
"Perhaps, if you were to take down your old Bible and read it sometimes, you would find out how black you are, and then Jesus would wash you in His blood, and make you quite clean." Phil ceased, almost frightened at his own boldness.
But Jasper was not offended; so Phil took courage, and went on, "You see, Mr. Jasper, you've often told us you've never wronged anybody, or cursed like father does; but there's lots of other things are wrong, that leave their marks upon us, only you haven't found them out yet; and I was thinking you had better know all about it, because, you see, it would be dreadful to die, and find it out afterwards! Now, Rob, we must be off, or father will be angry. Good-night, Mr. Jasper."
Out into the cold and the darkness went the two boys, leaving their old friend in a strangely disturbed state of mind. Rob's message and Phil's were so different; the one comforting, the other arousing. Yet both were true; but Phil's was uppermost just now. Perhaps, after all, his life in God's sight wouldn't bear inspection. Nay, deep down in his heart he knew it wouldn't. God's Word (he used to read it long ago) would "show him up," and prove him a sinner; and once more his eyes fell upon the clean text that made all around look so soiled.
But yet the very God whose word would convince him of sin was the God that "cared" for him; and so, with strangely conflicting ideas the old man blew out his lamp, and ascending the ladder that led to his bedroom, soon forgot in sleep all that perplexed him.