A missionary in the East Indies was sitting one evening on a bamboo chair in front of the mission house. In front of him was a little table with some Bibles, New Testaments, and tracts in the language of the country. In the heat of the tropical sun the missionary had sat all through the long day, so that he could tell everyone who passed him the way of salvation and offer them a copy of the Word of God, the Bible. Most people had passed by without listening. Some had stood still for a moment, but then only laughed, and then mocked as they continued their walk. But there were some who had gone away with the Word of God in their hands and a serious look on their faces. Deeply moved and praying for these people, the missionary lifted up his eyes to watch the sunset.
He was just preparing to go into the house when a young man approached. It was obvious from his magnificent turban and his yellow silk garment that he belonged to the rich and distinguished caste of the Brahmins. As he drew nearer, he bowed to the missionary and seated himself on a mat.
“I have come,” he began, “to tell you that idolatry is a sin. I know from this Book that God is One and that Christianity is the truth. I am a disciple of Jesus, and in order to become so publicly, I ask you to baptize me.”
The missionary, having learned from the young Brahmin that his mother was living and that he had many friends, besides being wealthy and of good position, encouraged him to think hard about what he was about to do. He reminded the young believer that in getting baptized he might lose everything that he had — family, friends and property. But the Brahmin’s answer was serious: “I understand you, but I have applied the test. I have weighed in the balance, on the one side, the Lord Jesus Christ, His love, and His blood once shed for me — and on the other side, I weighed my rank, my friends and my numerous possessions. But the things were light indeed compared with the Lord Jesus. They were lighter than vanity itself. I have proved them to be so.”
The missionary found that there was a true heart in the rich Brahmin. Like Moses, he counted “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:2626Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. (Hebrews 11:26)).
Not long after his baptism, the rich young man, who had before lived like a prince, found himself poor and lonely, forsaken by his mother and his family, deprived of caste, and robbed of his possessions. Even the lowest of his servants, who had previously almost worshipped him, now looked down on him and would have let him die without giving him any help ... so great is the power of darkness over the human heart. But what about the young Brahmin? He was a true, bright Christian. Like the Thessalonians in the Bible, he had left his idols to serve the living and true God. To earn a living, the once wealthy young man started working as a bookkeeper, at a very modest salary.
The Lord Jesus said, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:3636For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36)). This young man counted the cost and decided it was better to lose everything else in order to have a saved soul. Have you made that decision?
Messages of God’s Love 6/22/2025