By Nathanael Olson

The janitor of a certain church approached his pastor with a problem. “I can’t figure it out,” he said. “There’s a fellow who walks into our church at noon, stands at the altar for a minute, then quietly leaves. He does it every day.”

Pastor Jones frowned. “Does he look like a questionable character?”

“No, not really,” replied the janitor. “He looks very poor, but not evil.”

“Well, keep an eye on him,” the pastor suggested. “Find out his secret.”

The next day, after his noon prayers at the altar, the stranger approached the janitor.

“Hope you don’t mind my coming in here every day,” he began apologetically, “because I love to stand at your altar and pray.”

“But you never pray long,” the janitor interrupted.

“That’s because I don’t know any long prayers. I ain’t been to school. All I do is stand at your sacred altar and whisper, ‘It’s Jim, Jesus,’ and somehow I feel like He’s there beside me.”

The janitor choked with emotion but managed to say, “If you get such help from God at our altar, you’re always welcome.”

“I thank you,” Jim answered and he walked down the church steps.

A few days later Jim missed his daily visit to the altar. Pastor Jones soon discovered him in the public ward of the hospital with a serious injury.

Jim was the life of the ward. Even the nurses noticed a difference after Jim came, and one of them ventured to inquire, “What’s happened to you fellows? You used to be a bunch of grouches. What’s made you so agreeable lately?”

“It’s Jim,” one of them explained. “He suffers more than the rest of us but he’s always cheerful. We’re catching a mild dose of his sunshine, I guess.”

Turning to Jim, the nurse asked, “And what makes you so cheerful, sir?”

“It’s my daily Visitor,” he smiled. “He comes here at noon and stands at the foot of my bed.”

“A visitor — at noon?” the nurse frowned.

“Yes, a Visitor no one else can see,” Jim said softly. “He looks at me with eyes of love and gently lifts His nail-scarred hand. And then He whispers, ‘Jim, it’s Jesus.’ And somehow I always feel much better.”

There was a pause, then Jim said triumphantly, “That Visitor is Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. No wonder I love Him!”