Thought for the week: The remarkable conversion of Welsh vicar Rees Pritchard
Rees Pritchard was the vicar of Llandovery in Wales at the start of the 17th century. But despite his church office, Rees had never experienced God’s Salvation.
In fact he was an awful drunkard; so much so that the evil people in the parish used to say -"Bad as we may be, we are not half as bad as the Parson".
Rees spent a lot of time in the local hotel and would become so drunk that he could not walk, and someone would have to put him in a wheelbarrow to take him home. At the hotel there was a Billy goat and one day Rees gave the goat a drink of ale, and it drank so much that it got drunk and began to stagger about, which caused a lot of amusement among the vicar and his companions.
A few days later, the goat came into the hotel again and Rees held out his mug to give it another drink of ale. But to his amazement the goat turned its head away in disgust and quickly ran out of the room, and would not come near Rees again, who thought to himself - “Is this poor dumb creature wiser than I am?”
He considered these things for some time and was convicted of his sin and then said: “This goat has taught me a lesson; I will become a new man”. So, Rees he left his mug full of ale on the counter and hurried home where he humbled himself before God and cried for the forgiveness of all his sins.
This striking story is a great example of the truth that the power of alcohol can be broken in a person’s life by the mighty power of the Christian gospel. We want you to know that there is hope today a drunkard can be saved. The Bible teaches: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (Second Corinthians 5:17). The message is clear, if you come to Christ for Salvation He will change your life completely. The Lord Jesus taught: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed’ (St John 8:36). Jesus Christ can set you free from sins power, He can break the grip that booze has in your life. Will you let Him do that today? Will you come to Jesus Christ and be converted?
If there is a person with a drink problem reading this message, may you too be spoken to by the actions of that Billy goat, and as Rees Pritchard did; may you come to Christ and experience the life changing power of the gospel.