The Cross
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved
it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
John Beck, a missionary in Greenland, was discouraged, because the people he was trying to reach were becoming increasingly hostile. He was working at translation, when a group of men burst in. Kayarnak, the worst of the lot, seized a sheet of the manuscript and asked the meaning of the black marks. Beck explained that they were words, just like the words they were speaking. Kayarnak demanded him to make the paper speak. The missionary then read bits from different places in the Gospels, and was in the middle of the story of the crucifixion when he became conscious of the dead silence in the room. Looking up, he saw tears pouring down Kayarnak’s face. “Go on,” he said, “I want to hear more about this Jesus.” Beck went on to explain, as simply as he could the meaning of the Cross and the way of salvation. Kayarnak accepted the Saviour then and there, and proved a most valuable friend, helping in the translation of the Scriptures.
