A missionary was in Africa for many years, telling the natives the wonderful story of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for sinners. One day he was trying to explain to a group of them the meaning of faith. He said, “Do you see that pool of water over there? Have you ever seen that water get as hard as rock?”
“Oh, no!” they answered in surprise, since they had never seen ice.
“Believe me,” the missionary continued, “in the country where I come from the water gets so hard that you can stand on top of it!”
The natives did not understand this. One boy was heard whispering to another that the missionary was telling lies.
The missionary went on to explain that even though they had never seen ice and did not understand how it could occur, the fact was still true. To believe it, they needed faith. First, they needed faith in the missionary himself that he would tell them only the truth. Second, they needed faith to believe that water could turn to ice, even though they had never seen it happen.
It is the same way with God; He tells only the truth. He has spoken to us in His Word, the Bible. Have you read it and believed it? He has told you that you are a sinner and that there is nothing that you can do to save yourself from your sins. He has also told you that He loves you. And to show His love, He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die in your place. If you will accept Him as your Saviour, you will be saved from the punishment your sins require. Faith is believing God, because He says it.
Some months later the missionary returned to his northern homeland for a short visit. He brought back with him the African boy who thought he was lying when he told them about ice. It was winter where the missionary lived, so the two of them went for a walk to a pond that was being used as a hockey rink by some boys.
Remembering what he had said in Africa, the missionary asked the boy if he would like to walk on the “hard water.”
The boy was afraid to at first, but the missionary took his hand, and together they went out on the frozen pond. Then, jumping hard on the ice, the missionary asked him, “Now do you believe what I said about water getting hard as a rock?”
“Yes,” he answered, “I believe it now.”
That native boy did not have faith. He would not believe the missionary until he saw the ice. If he had believed what the missionary had told him in Africa, that would have been faith...even though it sounded impossible to him. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Do you have faith in God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who can save you from your sins?
ML-11/01/2015