I recently read about a missionary to Africa who gave a Bible to one of the African men with whom he had been studying. When it was given to him, the man hugged it close and expressed great appreciation for the precious gift of God’s Word.
However, when the missionary saw him a few days later, he noticed, much to his dismay, that the Bible looked like it was already falling apart, with many of its pages missing. The missionary asked him, “What happened? What did you do to your Bible? When I gave it to you I thought you considered it to be a treasured possession.”
“Indeed, it is a very precious possession, the man replied. “It is the finest gift I have ever received. It is so precious that when I returned to my village I very carefully chose a page and tore it out and gave it to my mother. Then I tore out another page and gave it to my father. And I tore out another page and gave it to my wife. Finally, I gave a page of God’s Word to everybody who lives in my village.”
We may smile at such an event, but what a testimony to this man’s belief in the treasure of God’s Word! God’s Word was so wonderful to him that he wanted to share it with everyone he knew!
May we all have that spirit as we seek and save the lost in America!
Dale Duverney, Rogers City MI congregation, via BulletinDigest.com