A good many years ago, in Nantes, a Bible was given to a beggar. Unlike the most of his class, the man could read, and when he found that the book was not known in the towns and villages which he passed through in his wanderings, he conceived the idea of adding to his meagre income by reading a portion to those who would be willing to pay for it.
One day he stopped before the little shop of an old man who made the sabots or wooden shoes worn by French peasants, and begged alms of the shoemaker.
“You ask charity of me!” exclaimed the old man, “I am just as needy as you are.”
The beggar replied: “If you are not willing to give me alms, then give me a sou (a French coin worth a cent), and I will read a chapter of the Bible to you.”
“A chapter of what?”
“Of the Bible.”
“What book is that? I never heard of it before.”
“It is a book which speaks of God.”
The old shoemaker, curious to know something of the contents of the book, gave the beggar a sou, upon which the latter produced his wonderful Book, and sitting down on a stone seat in front of the house, began to read. He opened the Bible at John’s Gospel, chapter 3, and the poor old man listened with delight to the words of grace and truth, which fell on his ear with all the attraction of something entirely new.
The narrative of the interview of Nicodemus with the Lord Jesus deeply impressed him, and especially was he struck with the words: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Before the reader concluded with the words: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him,” the old man was full of anxiety to hear more, and cried, “Go on! go on!”
“Oh! no,” replied the beggar, “only one chapter for a sou.”
Another sou was quickly handed over, and then the old man learned with speechless joy to the sweet story of the Saviour at Sychar’s well, and felt as he had never felt before when he heard for the first time the divine words: “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The time soon came, however, when the fourth chapter of John had been all read, and the beggar would read no more without another sou.
The old man could not go on pang sous, for he was very poor; but he begged the man to tell him where he had got such a marvelous book. The beggar said that he had got it from a pastor in Nantes, and then went his way.
The book went with him, but its words remained, and through the night as well as by day the old shoemaker repeated to himself, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
ML 09/17/1967