The Doctor's Condition Diagnosed By God's Word

     

This is a true story as related by Brother Norman telling how a doctor was brought to freedom by the testimony of a dying workman and his cherished Bible.

      William P. Mckay grew up in a Christian home, but at an early age he rebelled against the faith of his parents.  He didn't need God!  He would do his own thing!  He would be glad when he could leave home and do as he pleased -- call his own shots-- make his own way -- pursue his own career.

      At last the day came when he was leaving home to enroll in a university for the study of medicine.  As he was packing up for his departure, his mother gave him a new Bible.  She had written a loving note on the flyleaf encouraging him to read God's word and assuring him of her love and untiring prayers for him.  He had indifferently stuffed it into his bags and set off for college. 

    He never opened the Bible his mother had so tenderly given him and never gave it another thought.  Then one day, short of money, and needing some incidental item at school, he sold the Bible for a few coins at a pawn shop.

     Years went by.  McKay got his degree, graduated from medical school a full-fledged doctor and set up a practice in a bustling Scottish city. 

     More years went by.  One day a poor workman who had fallen from a high scaffold was hastily carried into Dr. Mckay's clinic in great pain.  Upon examining him,  the doctor sadly looked into the young man's face and said, "Son,  I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but there is nothing I can do for you.  You have suffered massive internal injuries.  You cannot live more than a few more hours--- a few days at most."

     The workman blinked a few times and then, giving McKay a weak smile through his pain, said, "Well, that's alright, Doctor. I guess that just means I'll get to see the Lord Jesus sooner than I ever thought.  He is my Savior, and if I die---well, then, I'll get to go to Heaven and be with Him."

      Somewhat startled by this reaction, McKay sympathetically asked, "Do you have any relatives that we can contact for you?"

     The young man answered, "No, my parents have both died and I am all alone in the world.  But I wish you would send for my landlady where I am rooming.  I owe her a little bit and I have enough in my pockets to pay her.  Ask her when she comes to please bring me the book."

     "What book is it that you want?"  the doctor asked.

      "Oh, just tell here to bring the book," the man replied, "She'll know which book."

     When the landlady came she brought the injured man a well-worn Bible, which he read almost constantly as long as he had strength to hold it.

     The young man held onto life for four days, then slipped away.  Often the nurses mentioned to Dr. McKay how cheerful he was in spite of his pain and how courteous and easy to care for he was.  They also shared bits of conversation he had with them about how Christ had changed his life and of what he was looking forward to in Heaven.  In spite of himself, the doctor was reminded of the Christian home he had grownup in. 

     A little while after the undertakers had come fr he young workman's body, a nurse brought an armful of items in to the doctor and said, "Dr. McKay, these are the belongings of the young man who just died.  What shall I do with them?"

     "What are they?" asked the doctor, hardly looking up.

     "Oh, just his coat and boots and wallet--- and of course, that old Bible that he was always reading as long as he could hold it up."

     "I'll just lay it all here on my desk for now," said McKay, reaching them from the nurse.

     As he laid the things down, he held onto the Bible for a bit, then, impressed by how much use it had obviously had, he opened it near the back and slowly let the pages fan through his fingers.  The pages were smudged with much turning.  Many passages had been underlined and some notes had been written in the margins.  He read a few of these and thought of how much this Bible had meant to this young man and how he must have loved it.  At length he came to the flyleaf just inside the front cover.  Suddenly his hands trembled so that he nearly dropped the book.  There was the inscription his own mother had lovingly written to him so many years ago.  The very Bible he had neglected and later sold for a trifle had transformed the life of this poor workman and led him to  faith that enabled him to smile at death.

      Well, you can guess the rest of the story.  The worn old Bible wasn't done in its work of  redemption.  It was also the means of leading the one for whom it was originally intended back to the God of his parents. 

     Perhaps you have met Dr. McKay before.  Have you ever sung in church that grand old Gospel song, Revive us Again?  In your hymn book, where it gives the authors of the songs, you will find the name, William P. McKay above this one.  This is the same William McKay who long ago had carelessly stuffed his praying mother's gift Bible into his luggage and set out for college.  He later became a dynamic preacher of the faith that he once tried to ignore. 

     Here are the words of his well known revival hymn:
http://www.scriptureandmusic.com/Music/Text_Files/Revive_Us_Again.html


Go here for Willaim McKay's own words describing this story:
http://www.hymnalaccompanist.com/Story/story-c3.html