Another Special Life in Christ

These testimony lives are not stories of "role models". Jesus is the role model!
These are lives wonderfully touched & changed by Jesus!

Beauty insulted:

Patrons and invited guests gathered and witnessed a verse recital by one of the most physically beautiful young women most had ever seen; and they say that her voice was a wonder of beauty and crystal clarity. But her health was failing. At the conclusion, and as the gathered guests raved and fawned over her, a pastor waited patiently. At a private moment of opportunity, he introduced himself (Rev. Dr. Caesar Malan of Switzerland) and said, "Young lady, your talent and beauty are a thing of wonder. But, without Jesus, you are no better than the lowest prostitute out in our streets!" Reeling back with shock at these words, 33 year old Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871) gasped, "Sir! What you said is an insult beyond belief!"

That night Charlotte was troubled, restless, and could not sleep. At the height of her upsetness, she knelt beside her bed and prayed. A few weeks later, she saw Dr. Malan and apologized, saying, "I am sorry for my rudeness. Actually I would like to come to Christ, but I do not know how to find him."  Dr. Malan looked at her and said, "Come just as you are!" and she accepted Jesus as her savior that day.

Twelve years later (1834), in very weakened health, she desperately wanted to help her brother (H. V. Elliott) raise money for a college (St. Mary's Hall at Brighton, England) for daughters of poor clergymen, but her useless, invalid physical condition gave her no options.

[As a very young person in Brighton, England, Charlotte had been a popular portrait artist and a writer of humorous verse. She had a serious ailment that made her a lifelong invalid of sorts.]

One morning just prior to dawn, remembering Malan's words, her mind began to fill with the words of a poem that was published 2 years later and sold without her name. Not realizing that Charlotte had written the poem, her doctor came by one day and handed her a copy of the poem leaflet. Tears streamed down her face as she read the six verses and was told that, "...copies of this poem are being sold and the money given to St. Mary's Hall." That poem supplied the words for what would become that great alter-invitational hymn, Just As I Am... "Just as I am, without one plea..."

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(reposted 17 Jan. 2002; latest update 13 September 2004)

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You have just read a very brief example of the powerful, supernatural transformation of a person's life which is possible through the acceptance of Jesus as your savior. Are you tired of life as it now is for you? He will accept you just as you are right this second! Consider accepting Jesus now [check it out]!