IN CHINA years ago thousands of soldiers were being trained in a large military barracks. Right across the street was a gospel mission. The little Christian band had tried many times to get into the barracks with the gospel, to distribute Scripture portions and tracts, to preach and to pray, but each time they had been driven out.
However, the missionaries continued in prayer, asking God to open up that training center to the gospel of Christ. Then one day God answered their prayers in a strange and wonderful way.
One of the Christians was cleaning out a cupboard in the mission kitchen and coming upon some loose papers he threw them out. Among those stray leaves were some pages torn from a Chinese Bible. He tossed them out of the window along with the rest of the papers. Just as they fell to the ground a little dog came dashing up and seized the torn pages in his mouth. While the missionary looked on in surprise the Chinese children chased the dog off the ground and he ran into the military barracks.
Apparently nothing more was thought of the incident until at the close of the Sunday gospel service a Chinese officer entered the hall, accompanied by two other uniformed men. The officer took from his pocket the torn pages of the Bible.
He told of how the dog had run into the barracks the other day with these pages in his mouth. They took them and read them and found a very interesting story. It appeared to be the campaign orders of a warrior, they said, and they wanted to know where they could get the whole book. The men wanted to know the rest of the story. So they had come thinking they might get a copy from the gospel mission.
Wonderfully surprised, the missionary read the loose pages and found they were a portion from the book of Joshua. With joy they presented the Chinese officer with a copy of the Word of God. The result was that the barracks were opened to the missionaries who went in and out among the men with the precious story of the Saviour and His redeeming love. God blessed His Word mightily and many of the men, both officers and privates, were saved and came to the gospel services at the little mission.
Some years later, when one of the missionaries visited in the snowy regions of Manchuria, as he got off the train he was greeted by a tall Chinese who asked him, “Do you remember me?” The missionary said he did not, and then the man told him, “I am one of those soldiers converted at the military barracks.” He said he had given up the army and was now preaching the gospel of Christ.
So the blessing began with God who used a little dog and a torn Bible to bring Christ to many souls in that land.
God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform...
ML-08/20/1972