A splash was followed by many ripples and then the water below was still. An American man crouched low, his eyes riveted on the place where a stream of little bubbles rose to the surface from deep under the water. Suddenly a black head appeared and a pair of bright eyes looked up. Then the old Indian pearl diver was clambering up, grinning and shaking the water from his shining oiled body.
"As nice a dive as I've ever seen, Rambhau!" cried David Morse, the American missionary.
"Look at this one," said Rambhau, taking a big oyster from between his teeth. "I think it'll be good."
Morse took it and while he was prying it open with his pocket knife Rambhau was pulling smaller oysters from his loincloth. "Rambhau! Look!" exclaimed Morse, "Why, it's a treasure!"
"Yes, a good one," shrugged the diver.
"Good! Have you ever seen a better pearl? It's perfect, isn't it?" Morse had been turning the big pearl over and over in his hand.
"Oh, yes," Rambhau responded, "there are better pearls, much better. Why I have one...." His voice trailed off. "See this one—the imperfections—the black speck here, this tiny dent; even in shape it is a bit oblong, but good as pearls go. It is just as you say of your God: to themselves people look perfect, but God sees them as they actually are."
"You're right, Rambhau. And God offers perfect righteousness to all who will simply believe and accept His free offer of salvation through His beloved Son."
"But Sahib, I have told you so many times, it's too easy. I cannot accept that. Perhaps I am too proud. I must work for my place in heaven."
"Oh, Rambhau! Don't you see, you'll never get to heaven that way. You are getting older now. Perhaps this is your last season of diving for pearls. If you ever want to see heaven's gates of pearl, you must accept the new life God offers you in His Son."
"My last season! Yes, you are right. Today was my last day of diving. This is the last month of the year, and I have preparations to make."
"You should prepare for the life to come."
"That's just what I'm going to do. Do you see that man over there? He is a pilgrim, perhaps to Bombay or Calcutta. He walks barefooted and picks the sharpest stones—and see—every few steps he kneels down and kisses the road. That is good. The first day of the new year I begin my pilgrimage. All my life I have planned it. I shall make sure of heaven. I am going to Delhi on my knees."
"Man! You're crazy! It's nine hundred miles to Delhi. The skin will break on your knees and you'll have blood poisoning and die before you can get to Bombay."
"No, I must get to Delhi. And then the immortals will reward me. The suffering will be sweet, for it will purchase heaven for me."
"Rambhau! My friend! You can't! How can I let you do this when Jesus Christ has died to purchase heaven for you?"
But the old man could not be moved. "You are my dearest friend on earth, Sahib Morse. Through all these years you have stood beside me. In sickness and want you have been sometimes my only friend. But even you cannot turn me from this great desire to purchase eternal bliss. I must go to Delhi." It was useless. The old pearl diver could not understand, could not accept the free salvation of Christ.
One afternoon Morse answered a knock at the door to find Rambhau there. "My good friend!" cried Morse. "Come in, Rambhau."
"No," said the diver, "I want you to come to my house, Sahib, for a short time. I have something to show you. Please come."
The missionary's heart leapt. Perhaps God was answering his prayer at last. "Of course, I'll come." he said.
"I leave for Delhi just one week from today, you know," said Rambhau as they neared the house. The missionary's heart sank. Inside, Morse sat on the chair his friend had built specially for him, where many times he had sat explaining to the diver God's way to heaven. Rambhau left the room to return soon with a small English strongbox. "I have had this box for years," he said. "I keep only one thing in it. Now I will tell you about it. Sahib Morse, I once had a son."
"A son! Why, Rambhau, you have never said a word about him."
"No Sahib, I couldn't. Now I must tell you for soon I will leave, and who knows whether I shall ever return? My son was a diver too, the best pearl diver on the coasts of India. He had the swiftest dive, the keenest eye, the strongest arm, the longest breath of any man who sought for pearls. What joy he brought me! He always dreamed of finding a pearl beyond all others.
One day he found it, but when he found it he had already been underwater too long. He died soon after."
The old pearl diver bowed his head and for a moment his whole body shook. "All these years I have kept the pearl," he continued, "but now I am going, not to return... and to you, my best friend, I am giving my pearl." The old man drew from the box a carefully wrapped package. Gently opening the cotton, he picked up a mammoth pearl and placed it in the hand of the missionary. It was one of the largest pearls ever found off the coast of India, and it glowed with a luster and brilliance never seen in cultured pearls. It would have brought a fabulous sum in any market.
For a moment the missionary was speechless. "Rambhau," he said, "this is a wonderful pearl, an amazing pearl. Let me buy it. I will give you ten thousand rupees for it."
Rambhau stiffened his whole body. "Sahib! This pearl is beyond all price. A million rupees could not buy it from me. I will not sell it. You may only have it as a gift.
"No, Rambhau, I cannot accept that. As much as I want the pearl, I cannot accept it that way. Perhaps I am proud, but that is too easy. I must pay for it, or work for it."
The old pearl diver was stunned. "You don't understand at all, Sahib. Don't you see? My only son gave his life to get this pearl, and I wouldn't sell it for any amount of money. It's worth is in the life blood of my son. I cannot sell this; I can only give it to you in token of the love I bear you."
The missionary could not speak for a moment; then he gripped the hand of the old man. "Rambhau, don't you see? That is just what you have been saying to God." The diver looked searchingly at the missionary, and slowly he began to understand. "God is offering to you eternal life as a free gift. It cost God the life blood of His only Son to make the entrance for you into heaven. In a hundred pilgrimages you could not earn that entrance. All you can do is to receive it as a token of God's love for you. Rambhau, of course I will accept the pearl in deep humility. Won't you too accept God's great gift of eternal life, in deep humility, knowing it cost Him the death of His Son to offer it to you?"
Great tears were rolling down the cheeks of the old man. He understood at last. "Sahib, I see it now. I believe Jesus gave Himself for me. I accept Him."