“May I help you?” the salesclerk asked a sailor who had just entered a Bible store in Singapore one afternoon.
“No,” he replied, “I only want to select some books, and I like to help myself.”
When he had chosen several books and brought them to the sales desk, he said, “These books are for our ship’s library. Until a few months ago I would not have been interested in such reading, but now good Christian literature is such a joy to me.
“I’m a seaman. Our ship is in port for several days. When I came ashore I saw your book display in the window.
“Some months ago,” he continued, “we were on a round trip from New York to South Pacific ports, north again through the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic Ocean. The trip takes about three months.
“As we left the last port, out of all the ship’s company, I was the one who contracted the measles. I was so sick that when we put into a port in India, the captain put me ashore in a hospital while the ship continued on its way.
“It was a sad day for me when I saw everybody embark for home while I had to stay — a complete stranger in a foreign port.
“Time passed very slowly. As I was in isolation, I had no contact with anyone but the hospital staff. It was then that I discovered an English Bible in my room. It was the only book of any description available, so I began to read it. There was nothing else to do.
“But as I continued to read, I felt the Spirit of God speaking to me. I read, ‘All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:2323For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23)), and I realized I was a lost sinner in the presence of a holy God.
“Thank God the message did not stop there. I also read that ‘Christ died for our sins’ (1 Corinthians 15:3), and ‘the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin’ (1 John 1:77The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7)). This wonderful Word of God brought life and light and liberty to my hopeless, dark heart, and now through grace I am a new man in Christ Jesus. My sins are gone!
“In due course, our ship came around again and picked me up. We are on our way home now.”
Who would have guessed that a case of measles would result in eternal blessing to a soul?
Many people place more confidence in science than the Bible. Even when they hear true stories like the big change that came over the young seaman, they remain skeptical. But there’s a way to be free of that skepticism. Find out how in Who Knows What to Believe?