AHMED was a tall handsome Indian boy with jet black hair, and he lived in Natal, Africa. A missionary had just addressed a crowd of Indian students, and after the meeting was over, Ahmed stayed behind for a chat. In his early life they had lived across the road from a big temple and every day hundreds of people came to place their offerings at the feet of the god.
Ahmed and his mother had often been there too to place a gift in the shrine. There was one ugly little god especially for the children. Ahmed would place his gifts before the idol and quietly steal away. All the idols were very ugly with eyes that looked in every direction, but their garments were the most costly silks and satins adorned with jewels.
The priest, however, was very dirty and untidy, and some of his front teeth were missing.
On feast days Ahmed would sit with thousands of others and watch this little priest stick a fork through his tongue. When Ahmed asked his mother why he did that she told him it would please the god of the temple. Ahmed wondered about all these things and asked his parents many questions but their answers never seemed to satisfy him.
One day Ahmed went down to a little hall at the end of the street where white people held services. Their message seemed so different from what he had heard all his life, for they talked about God and Jesus. The speakers were not dirty like the priest of the temple nor did they stick forks in their tongues. Ahmed wondered if he should bring a gift but the missionary told him that the best gift he could bring was himself — to place himself, a sinner, at the feet of the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. At first Ahmed could not understand. The white preacher talked about God, but where was He? He couldn’t see Him, like the gods he was used to all his life.
Then one day the white man surprised him and told him they were to have a special meeting at another place where only Indians would be present. And he said, “Ahmed, I want you to come.” There was to be a special speaker from a far distant land. When the day arrived Ahmed was there with 80 more Indian stents.
All through the meeting Ahmed’s eyes were glued on the man on the platform. The speaker talked about the gods of the temple and said they were no gods at all. “They are only carved out of wood. And when you put your gift before the god, after you’re gone the priest comes and takes your gift for himself. It’s no use for a priest to stick a fork through his tongue, for the god cannot see what you are doing.”
These were the very things that Ahmed had been thinking about over many months. He had had a secret longing in his heart but now he realized that deep down in his heart he wanted to know and love the true God. The man on the platform talked as if the true God was his friend. The speaker went on.
“There is only one true God, and He did something very wonderful for us.” Then he read John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16): “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The speaker talked about Jesus and told of how when he was just a boy in his own country he found Him as his Saviour and Friend. He said, “I do not need an idol to rind me of Him, for He now lives in my heart. Every day He talks to me and tells me He loves me. He guides me too in what I should do. He is my very wonderful Friend.”
“The Lord Jesus wants to be your Friend too, he told them,” and Ahmed’s eyes were shining. When the meeting was over he waited for the speaker to come down from the platform and then very timidly he said, “Sir, I would like the Lord Jesus to be my Friend.”
How pleased the preacher was to hear this and as he sat and talked with Ahmed he led him to Christ. Again he opened his Bible and pointed to the great verse in John chapter 3: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever,...” “Ahmed, do you know the meaning of that long word?”
“Yes, sir, it means anybody, everybody; it means me. I can believe on the Lord Jesus, and then He will be my Friend.”
The preacher prayed while Ahmed bowed his head. That afternoon Ahmed found the Saviour, and then he realized that the Saviour had been seeking him for a long time. When he bid good-bye to the servant of Christ his eyes were shining with happiness. He had found the true God, he had found the real Saviour — the Lord Jesus Christ.
ML-09/02/1973