Mary was the daughter of missionary parents in India. She lived there until she was six years old. When it was time for her to start school, her parents sent her back to North America to live with her grandmother. Mary’s grandmother loved her very much and often told her Bible stories.
As Mary learned to read and write, she would send letters back to her parents in India. They sent many letters to her too. At first her grandmother would have to read them to her. However, it wasn’t long before she could read them herself.
One day when she was almost seven, she received a letter from her father. With it he included some money and a note that said, “You will soon be having your seventh birthday, Mary. I have enclosed money for you to buy yourself a new Bible as your birthday present.”
“That’s just what I wanted!” exclaimed Mary happily.
On her birthday, Mary and her grandmother went to a bookstore. They looked at all the different kinds of Bibles. There were big ones and little ones, some had gold edges on the pages, and some had leather covers, but they cost more. After looking at them for almost fifteen minutes, Mary told the saleslady how much money she had and asked if it would buy two Bibles.
“Yes,” replied the saleslady, “but not the nice ones you’re looking at.”
Mary’s grandmother heard this and asked, “Mary, why do you want two Bibles?”
“Because I want one for myself and one to send to a girl in India who is my age so that she can learn about Jesus too,” answered Mary.
So Mary bought two Bibles. They didn’t have gold-edged pages or soft, leather covers. But the saleslady told Mary, “The inside is just the same!”
As soon as Mary got home, her grandmother helped her carefully wrap the second Bible to be sent with a letter to her parents. She thanked them for her Bible and asked them to please give the second Bible to a seven-year-old girl in India.
Mary read her Bible every day and learned more of the love of Jesus. Her favorite verse was, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:1919The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. (John 4:19)). She read in a letter from her father that the second Bible had been given to a seven-year-old girl, just as Mary had asked. Each day Mary prayed for her unknown friend in India, that she also might learn to know about the love of Jesus and how He had died on the cross for her too.
After Mary finished her schooling, she went back to India to help her parents in their missionary work. Not long after she arrived, she met an Indian girl and learned that she was a happy Christian.
“How did you learn about the Lord Jesus?” Mary asked her.
“When I was seven years old, I was given this Bible,” answered the girl. “I read it and learned how the Lord Jesus loved me and died for me.”
Mary had finally met her unknown friend! This was the seven-year-old girl who had received Mary’s second Bible and for whom Mary had been praying all these years.
Do you have a Bible? If you will read it, you will learn about God’s love and how He sent His Son Jesus to die for you. If you already know Him as your Saviour, why not do what Mary did—pass on God’s Word to others so that they can learn of God’s love and be saved.
ML-06/28/2009