In a city in one of the countries of Central America a woman had made a bonfire. The ants had built their nest in a pile of books and papers, and the woman had thrown the whole mass into the fire. Raking through the smoking and charred remains, she came upon a Spanish New Testament and quickly threw it back into the fire again. Then a child rescued it from the flames and put it up on a ledge. There it rained for some time while one and another tore off its pages one by one for cigarette papers.
But the scarred and abused little volume was destined, under the hand of God for a higher and more blessed service than that. Finally, a man carried it off and presented it to Juan, who worked on a plantation. Juan sat and read the tattered and smoked remnant of the little Book his friend had given him. The first part of the Book had been torn away, but on the first of the remaining pages, Juan read the wonderful words, “The beginning of the Goel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Were not these words from the Bible, thought Juan, and had he not been taught that this was a bad book? Nevertheless, those wonderful words sounded in Juan’s ear all day long, and when his work was done, he hurried home to read the Gospel of God’s Son.
Beginning at the first page, he read on and on, and by the time he had come to the end of the Book of Revelation, he decided in his own mind that there was nothing bad in this Book. He thought, I must get the first part and read that. He knew of some Christians not far away, and from them he obtained a whole New Testament. He read the whole of Matthew’s Gospel through and was charmed. Then as he read on to John’s Gospel, he was arrested by the words of the Lord Jesus to that poor woman at Sychar’s well John 4); “Woman, believe Me... the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.” This was true worship, thought Juan. He would become that kind of a worshipper.
He got permission from his employer to have Christian services in his home, and the very next Sunday, he invited the Christians nearby to have a meeting there. They had a blessed time together around the Lord, and it was the beginning of a joyful Gospel witness in that place. Saved and happy now, Juan delighted to tell the story of the grace of God to him and of how He had blessed the little Testament to the salvation of his soul. His whole family was saved. Many more came to hear the glad tidings, and entered into the joy of the knowledge of sins forgiven and peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
ML 11/17/1968