2001-08-07 - Privileged Service

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I have been reading a book that was published almost 150 years ago. In it I found an interesting story of a man who died in India. It seems that he had been traveling in a caravan with a large amount of people and taken ill. He was left behind to die. However, a missionary came upon him before he died and whispered in the dying man's ear, "Brother, what is your hope?"

To the surprise of the missionary the reply came back, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." The man then died. The missionary was somewhat astonished at the reply and wondered how this man, who had no outward appearance of faith in Christ could have had such a hope. He had died peacefully, but where could he have obtained such an understanding?

He then observed a piece of paper in the hand of the dead man. He pulled it out and found that the paper was a single page from the Bible. It was the first chapter of 1 John and in that simple page the man had found the gospel and salvation. We might wonder how he came into possession of this page from God's Word, but such speculation matters little. The lesson is that someone's efforts to spread the good news of salvation in remote India, 150 years ago, paid off with the conversion of a soul.

The person or group that was supplying the Christian literature probably never heard this story. However, that makes little difference. The efforts were rewarded by the Holy Spirit and a precious soul was brought into the kingdom of God. This ought to encourage us to serve the Lord where we can. We may never know how the Lord will use our efforts but the joy is that He may. We serve the Lord out of love and with the expectation that He may bless our endeavors. May God be pleased to bless the efforts we extend in His service to His own glory.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

 tim@cfdevotionals.org
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