Today at Church we thought about sowing seeds of goodness (Galatians 6:7-10). It reminded me of Mrs Colville from Gateshead.
What did Mrs Colville do? It was embarrassingly simple really. In the middle of the 19th century she went from door to door seeking to tell people about the Gospel of the Lord Jesus.
She arrived in Ballymena in Ireland with the Baptist Missionary Society. Going from door to door one day she was she found two ladies who were already conversing with a young man about spiritual things. His name was James. James subsequently sought out Mrs Colville for further discussion and his life began to change.
The story moves to Kells, a nearby village, where two young men - Jeremiah Meneely and Robert Carlisle - were walking home with the school-master following a school property meeting. Robert asked them had they heard about the great change that had come over James.
That autumn, reflecting on James's change of life, Jeremiah was inspired to begin a Prayer Meeting. After 3 months nothing much had happened, except two more men had joined. On January 1st the first conversion took place as a result of the prayer-meeting.
But after that there were conversions one after another. By year's end about fifty young men were taking part in the prayer meeting.
From that meeting in North Antrim the seed of revival grew into the great Revival of 1859 in Ulster, one glimpse of which might be seen in this description of one of countless great meetings which often lasted days - I could not get into the building; every open window was more than occupied. In the vestry room there were those under conviction of sin; it was a scene impossible to forget and equally impossible to describe. An old man, a boy, and a young man were in varying stages of upset. They all wanted to be free from sin. “ I know that my redeemer liveth, the young man said. “I know that He can save my soul. I know that He can wash me from all uncleanness in the fountain of His atoning blood. But, Oh I have crucified Him, I have crucified Him."
Or this from the local newspaper in one town: Common street prostitutes and public nuisances who had frequently been convicted for drunkenness and loitering are now clothed with attention to decency and struggling to earn their livelihood by honest labour, and by learning to read. They are all daily and humbly beseeching pardon for their past sin and in regular attendance at some place of worship. At the Raceview Woollen Mills by twelve noon the factory had to close down as so many of the employees were crying out to God.
Mrs Colville had returned from her Mission Trip sad at the poor response. Yet she had been the sower of a seed that, even in the amazing events of 1859, had scarcely begun to reveal its true harvest.
But after that there were conversions one after another. By year's end about fifty young men were taking part in the prayer meeting.
From that meeting in North Antrim the seed of revival grew into the great Revival of 1859 in Ulster, one glimpse of which might be seen in this description of one of countless great meetings which often lasted days - I could not get into the building; every open window was more than occupied. In the vestry room there were those under conviction of sin; it was a scene impossible to forget and equally impossible to describe. An old man, a boy, and a young man were in varying stages of upset. They all wanted to be free from sin. “ I know that my redeemer liveth, the young man said. “I know that He can save my soul. I know that He can wash me from all uncleanness in the fountain of His atoning blood. But, Oh I have crucified Him, I have crucified Him."
Or this from the local newspaper in one town: Common street prostitutes and public nuisances who had frequently been convicted for drunkenness and loitering are now clothed with attention to decency and struggling to earn their livelihood by honest labour, and by learning to read. They are all daily and humbly beseeching pardon for their past sin and in regular attendance at some place of worship. At the Raceview Woollen Mills by twelve noon the factory had to close down as so many of the employees were crying out to God.
Mrs Colville had returned from her Mission Trip sad at the poor response. Yet she had been the sower of a seed that, even in the amazing events of 1859, had scarcely begun to reveal its true harvest.
Meanwhile in Edinburgh . . .
A young lady was converted in that great revival of 1859 and all she could pray for was one thing. That revival would break out in her little church in Edinburgh. Time went by - thirty years went by - and she still had not seen an answer to her prayers. But she was sowing in prayer as surely as Mrs Colville had previously done to lead towards that Revival in which this lady had been saved. But that will take another blog.
