Mr. Bach, a missionary in South America, was 18 years of age when he came to know Christ as his Saviour. Before his conversion he knew Christ by name, and he knew much of His life and teachings, but that was not enough. The Spirit of God had brought him under conviction of sin, but it is one thing to be convicted; it is another to be born again.
When Bach was a student in Denmark, one Sunday afternoon as he walked along the street, a young man came up to him and apologized for stopping him. Then he took a tract out of his pocket and said, “Will you please take this little tract? It has a message for you.”
In contempt Bach crushed the tract in his hand and replied, “Why do you bother people with such reading? I’ll take care of my own interests.” Then he tore the tract into pieces and stuffed them in his pocket.
The young man did not reply, but as Bach turned to leave, he noticed he had turned his face toward the doorway, tears were running down his cheeks, and his hands were folded in prayer.
The young man’s attitude toward his crude actions and words of contempt brought deep conviction to Bach’s heart. When he got back to his room half an hour later, the first thing he did was to paste together the pieces of the tract. Before he had fished reading it, he was down on his knees asking God to forgive his sins and for grace to accept Christ as his Saviour. God heard his prayer, and the Lord Jesus who never turns anyone away, received the young student and saved him right then.
That same evening young Bach went to a gospel hall and publicly testified to the saving grace of Christ.
Since that night Bach looked forward to the privilege of meeting in heaven the young man who gave him the tract and wept and prayed for him. He hoped too that there might be some there to whom he himself had given tracts and who were the subject of his prayers and tears.
ML-05/21/1978