Soon after Japan was opened to the gospel, a Buddhist priest named Yohoi was present at a great ecclesiastical function in Niigata. A discussion sprang up among the priests assembled there as to the best methods of attacking and hindering the spread of this "new religion."
Yohoi contended that, in order to oppose it successfully, each priest must study its doctrines personally and become fully acquainted with them. To set an example to the others, he went directly from the conference and bought a New Testament for himself.
For months he studied it diligently, first delighting in its beauty as literature. Then, becoming convinced of its divine origin and true character, he saw his own sinfulness and need of Christ as his Savior. A few days after this Yohoi handed in his resignation to the chief priest, saying that he could no longer serve under him. Returning to his northern temple, he gave up his charge and set off on foot for Tokyo, a distance of 180 miles. Arriving at the capital in deep distress of soul, he sought out a Scottish Christian missionary who gave him further knowledge of God's holiness, His justice, and His righteous judgment on sin. So intense was Yohoi's own conviction of sin that this added knowledge only plunged him into deeper despair. He was even tempted to throw away the Book of God and return to Buddhism.
But he continued to read the beautiful writings, and the entrance of that Word gave him light. Burdened with a sense of his guilt before God, he came across the words of the Lord Jesus in Matt. 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28): Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
These wonderful words, full of grace and tenderness, filled his heart with peace. All through the silent hours of that night he lay awake; he thought of them; he pondered them; he believed them. He experienced the rest of which the verse speaks. Yohoi was saved, and he knew it.
He did not hide his light, but confessed Jesus as his Savior and his Lord. He often delighted to tell of these words which were used by the Spirit of God in leading him to Jesus and in giving rest to his soul. But his greatest joy was to tell of the Savior Himself, by whose precious blood he was cleansed from sin.
You have probably been born in a land that is called "Christian." You have heard of Jesus, the Savior who is able and willing to cleanse you from every sin. Will you not, like Yohoi, receive Him, rest in Him, and know the joys of sins forgiven?