THE UNSEEN FRIEND（CONCLUDED）
未曾谋面的朋友（续）
1.Miss Fairlie laid her hand gently on the boy’s shoulder.“What if I tell you that you have a Friend in a far country，who gives you many more presents than Ned‘s uncle gives him；who never forgets you，nor ceases to do every thing for your good；who writes to you kinder letters even than those Ned receives from his uncle，and who is preparing a house in the far-off country for your reception，when it is His will to take you to live with Himself.”
2.At these words a light flashed on the boy’s mind；he saw Miss Fairlie‘s meaning.Yes，he had such a Friend；but could he say he had ever thought of Him in that light？God did indeed lavish many gifts on him；yet how little he had loved Him！how little had he striven to please Him，as Ned did his uncle，by obeying His commands！
3.Ned had crept close beside his aunt-the light in his eyes telling he knew something of that Friend also，and loved to hear Him spoken of.
4.“Dear boys，”Miss Fairlie said，“think one moment on God’s unspeakable gift.He gave His only Son，that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish，but have everlasting life.
5.”In comparison with that gift，all others are as nothing.Kind，loving Jesus，to leave his glory and come to earth to suffer and die for us！Surely，when we think of that，we can say from our hearts，‘Whom having not seen，we love.’“6.Some days after the events we have written of，George received a small parcel，which，on unfolding，he found to be a prettily bound Bible-a gift from Miss Fairlie.A mark，in the form of an anchor，was slipped in at the first chapter of first Peter and underlined were the words，“Jesus Christ，whom having not seen，ye love.”
7.Reader，do you love Jesus？He has loved you with an everlasting love-loved you so as to die for you.Do you love Him in return？Earthly friends may be kind，but He is far kinder.“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.”He is preparing a house for you in the far country.
8.He has purchased it for you with His own blood.Surely，unseen you must love Him who hath done such great things for you.Hear his words：“Thomas，because thou hast seen me，thou hast believed：blessed are they that have not seen，and yet have believed.”
9.One day we shall see Him face to face，and，through His merits，shall enter the home and the land that are now afar off：
10.There，beside yon crystal river，There，beneath life‘s wondrous tree，There，with nought to grieve or sever，Ever with the Lamb to be；Heirs of glory，that shall be For you and me！
【中文阅读】
1.菲尔里小姐温和地把手放在乔治的肩上，“如果我告诉你，你在一个遥远的国度里有一位朋友，他给你的礼物比尼德的叔叔给他的礼物多得多，他也从来不忘记你，总是做对你有意义的事情，而且他给你写的信比尼德收到他叔叔的信的内容还要好，而且他希望你和他一起生活，因此也为你在那遥远的国度准备了一所房子，那你会怎么样呢？”
2.这些话就像一盏明灯点亮了乔治的心，他明白了菲尔里小姐的意思。是的，他确实有这样一位朋友。但是他能说他曾想到过那个伟大不平凡的朋友吗？上帝确实是慷慨施予他许多的礼物，但是他却爱他很少很少！他几乎没有过像尼德服从叔叔那样努力取悦于伟大的他！
3.尼德静静地走近婶婶--眼中放着光，说明他也知道婶婶说的人是谁了，而且很乐意听他们谈论这个话题。
4.“亲爱的孩子们，”菲尔里小姐说，“想一想上帝赐予的那些不能用言语描述的礼物吧，他把那些礼物赐予他的孩子，那些相信他不会死亡，而能永生的人们。”
5.“与那个礼物相比，其他的东西都不算什么了。善良的、人们爱戴的基督，他抛开荣誉，来到人世间，为我们受难，甚至为我们死！当然，当我们想到这些，我们就可以从心底里说：’虽然我们从未见面，但是我们爱您。‘”
6.这件事之后过了几天，乔治收到了一个小包裹，打开包裹，他看到里面是一本装帧精美的《圣经》--菲尔里小姐送给他的礼物。翻开第一章，一个锚的标记映入眼帘，一句话下面画着横线：“耶稣基督，虽然从未见面，但是我们爱您。”
7.小读者们，你们爱基督吗？他永远爱你们--可以为你们去死。那么你们也能一样爱他吗？众生是善良的，而他更善良。“每一个好的礼物，每一个精彩的礼物，都来自于上帝的给予。”他还在遥远的地方为你准备了一个家。
8.他用自己的鲜血实现了他对我们的爱。所以，你们当然要像他爱你们一样去爱他。他曾说过：“托马斯，你看到了我，所以你相信我；保佑那些虽然还没有看到过我，却已经相信我的人吧。”
9.总有一天，我们会因为我们表现出了高尚的品德而到那现在似乎是遥远的国度与他见面：
10.就在那里，在水晶河边，就在那里，在神奇的生命树下，就在那里，带着悲伤或离别，顺从的羔羊，未来荣耀的子嗣为我，为你！
