In the 1800s, even though Charles Berry was a pastor, he found himself preaching a Christ who was limited to being a noble teacher. Barry never thought upon Jesus as a God-sent Savior. One night, shortly after he began work at his first parish in England, a visitor came calling. Opening the door he found a young girl with a shawl on her head and poor shoes on her feet. She asked, “Mister, are you a minister?" He told her he was. With a tone of immediacy she said, “Sir, you must come with me quickly. I want you to get my mother in." Thinking the girl was describing a mother with an alcohol problem, Berry said, “I can do nothing. Please, go and tell a policeman." "No," said the girl, "My mother is dying, and you must come and get her into heaven." Berry put on his coat and followed the lass for about a mile-and-a-half through the lonely streets.
Coming to the woman’s humble home, he knelt by her bedside. He began by explaining to the woman how Jesus had come to show us how we were to live our lives in kindness and compassion. The dying woman stopped him.” “Sir”, she cried, “those words are no good for the likes of me. I'm afraid. I’ve been a sinner all my life. Isn’t there someone you know who can help me and tell me how my poor soul can be saved?” Years later the Reverend Berry confessed, "There I was, standing in the presence of a dying woman and I had nothing to tell her. She was covered with sin and death had come to the door. Still, I had no message. In order to give something to that dying woman, I remembered the things I learned from my mother. I remembered my cradle faith. I told her the story of the cross and of a Christ who is able to forgive and save sinners completely." Reverend Berry said, “The tears began to run down the woman's cheeks. ‘Now you're getting it,’ she said. ‘Now you're helping me.’" Pastor Berry concluded his story by saying, "God got her into heaven and, blessed be, God, got me in there, too."
