TWO COLPORTEURS—men who sell Bibles — were on a trip through a part of Korea, visiting a number of villages. They stayed at night in wayside inns or farmers’ houses, wherever they could find hospitality — a meal and a place to lie down — for this gave them opportunities to preach the gospel and to distribute Bibles and Testaments.
In the village of Unmooruni, late one evening, they stopped at the house of Mr. Yi Kai Oo. They told him the story of God’s salvation through Jesus Christ, but Mr. Yi did not care for it. And, although he bought four Gospels, he did not really care for their books, and neither did he have any affection for the men at his door. Darkness had fallen by now, however, so Mr. Yi invited them to spend the night in his house. They went on their way in the morning, but their host was unchanged in his attitude toward them. Little did he realize the immeasurable value of the salvation they preached.
Four years passed. During that time no other Christian preacher came to the village. And during that time the Gospels which Mr. Yi had purchased were largely unread.
Suddenly, something Mr. Yi read so stirred the man that now he had a great desire to study the Bible. The longing in his soul increased and he now wished that someone would come to his village to tell him more about salvation from sin.
When no one came that way, Mr. Yi sent his son to a town where it was said there was a man who was preaching about Jesus. The young man found the preacher, told his father’s message, and soon both were on their way back. Mr. Yi welcomed the Christian and treated him with the greatest respect.
It was not long before Mr. Yi told of the longing he had to learn the meaning of what he had read in the Gospels. He was not disappointed, for the Christian told the story of God’s love for mankind. He told of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who had come down from heaven and as Man had died on the cross of Calvary. Now Mr. Yi, and lost sinners everywhere, can be saved by simply trusting in Jesus as Saviour.
Mr. Yi did what God’s word says. He believed in Jesus and he was saved. But the story does not end here. Even before the Christian preacher came, Mr. Yi read the Gospels to his family, his friends and his neighbors. He called them all to his house to hear the story that he had already heard. As a result fifteen more souls were saved.
Neither does the story end here, for Mr. Yi was anxious to know how to pray and how to worship the ling God. He knew how the Buddhist priests worshiped in their temples and how the spirit-worshipers sacrificed to the spirits of the hills and sky. But how should a Christian worship the true and living God?
Patiently and carefully the visitor showed Mr. Yi that in the Bible God has supplied all the answers we need to live in ways that please God. Now the newly saved folks realized that God had supplied all their needs.
You can be saved from judgment by trusting in Jesus. And if God is pleased to leave you on earth for a little while, the Bible tells you how to live pleasing to God. “His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain until life and godliness.”
ML-01/26/1964