Mr. No lived far off in Korea, which is north of the vast country of China. In his search for knowledge he had come across a book which described the lands of the West. It said that the people were powerful and progressive but that they professed the Christian faith, which was a very bad religion. However Mr. No had a mind of his own and thought, “How is it that these nations have made such wonderful progress if they have a wicked religion? I can’t quite believe it; I must find out for myself.”
For several reasons he did not want anyone to know he was interested in the foreign religion. He dared not attend a Christian service.
Now two missionaries, Mr. Underwood and Dr. Alden, had come to Mr. No’s very own area in Korea to tell people about the one God and His Son Jesus Christ. Believing that there were some who would not come to their services, but who might meet them elsewhere, they fitted up a “guest room” in the Korean style and started a class for the study of English. Mr. No joined it though English was not what he was after.
One day he was alone in Dr. Alden’s study and spied on his desk two little Chinese books, “Matthew’s Good News, and Luke’s Good News.” Like many Koreans Mr. No understood Chinese, and in a jiffy he slipped them up his sleeve. Sleeves are handy you see. They will hold books and pancakes and other things.
When Mr. No got home he went to his inner room and began to read. It was all so wonderful he could not stop until he had read both books, in fact he pondered them all night long.
Early in the morning Mr. No hurried to Mr. Underwood’s house to tell him he had taken the books from the doctor’s desk. Mr. Underwood assured him that Dr. Alden would be very glad for him to keep them.
“It is grand! It is good!” cried Mr. No holding up the precious books. He was not afraid now. He was so full of the good news he was eager to talk.
Do you remember Nathanael? The first time he saw Jesus he believed and cried, “Master, Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel!” Mr. No was that sort of man.
In that never-to-be-forgotten night reading the wonderful story of God’s love, he saw that this was not a mere “foreigner’s religion” but the good news of a Saviour who had died for his sins.
He confessed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and was baptized. Little by little many more did likewise. So this is how Mr. No said, “Yes.”
ML-04/09/1978