The Ragman

[FineLinen]

Ragman....my brother what a joy seeing you on the Ragman link. I am pleased you have joined us on the forums...you will be a blessing to those who read your posts.

Over the course of the past couple of months we have had a few stories and encouragement on this link for those who have taken the time to read. I trust we can continue for a little longer in that vein; but in the meantime, please welcome a man who has been a great uplift for me over the past years. If you get an opportunity, you may want to print out a couple of articles to read at your leisure. May our Lord continue to lift each of us into the fulness of His exceeding great glory....David

A Great Cloud Of Witnesses Surround Us!

T. Austin Sparks

http://thekingdomofgod.tripod.com/sparks.htm

"Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; and only he who sees takes off his shoes." Eliz. B. Browning

"Bless God, America!" Linden Summer

 

[FineLinen]

Jenny Lind

During her very successful career as an operatic singer, Jenny Lind was known as "The Swedish Nightingale." She became one of the wealthiest artists of her time, yet she left the stage when she was singing her best.

Countless people speculated as to the reason for her leaving, and most people wondered how she could give up so much fame and money. She seemed content however, to live in privacy in a home by the sea.

One day a friend found her sitting in the sand on the beach, her Bible on her knees, looking out into the glorious glow of a sunset. As they talked, the friend asked, "Madame Goldschmidt, how is it that you ever came to abandon the stage at the height of your success?"

She answered quietly, "When every day it made me think less of this (laying her finger on her Bible) and nothing at all of that (pointing to the sunset), what else could I do?"

The world may never understand your decision to follow God's way. But then, perhaps God cannot understand a decision to pursue what the world offers when He has such great rewards in store for those who follow Him.

Be more concerned with what God thinks about you than what people think of you.



You're The Centre Of My Soul

http://newhopemusic.com/songs.a-g/center.htm

 

[FineLinen]

Attitudes

1. It is your attitude at the beginning of a task more than anything
else that will determine your success or failure.

2. It is your attitude towards life that will determine life's attitude
towards you. Despite many people's belief to the contrary, life
pays no favorites.

3. You control your attitude. If you are negative it is because you
have decided to be negative and not because of other people
or circumstances.

4. Act as if you have a good attitude. Remember actions trigger
feelings just as feelings trigger actions.

5. Before a person can achieve the kind of results he wants, he must
first become that person. He must then think, walk, talk, act and
conduct himself in all of his affairs, as would the person he wishes to
become.

6. Treat everybody as the most important person in the world.

7. Attitudes are based on assumptions. In order to change attitudes one
must first change one's assumptions.

8. Develop the attitude that there are more reasons why you should succeed
than reasons why you should fail.

9. When you are faced with a problem, adopt the attitude that you can and
will solve it.

10. We become what we think about. Control your thoughts and you will
control your life.

11. Radiate the attitude of confidence, of well being, of a person who knows where he is going. You will then find good things happening to you right away.

12. In order to develop a good attitude, take charge first thing in the morning.

Do you say, "Good morning, Lord" or "Good Lord, morning?"

Receive His Grace

http://newhopemusic.com/fromhim.htm

 

[BaBiDaNsTaR]

4HimILive-Hey, I never thought about that. Putting on shows would be a really great idea. Thanks! I am going to try looking into that.

 

[FineLinen]

Greetings friends...happy April Fools Day.

The Astronomy Picture Of The Day  

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030401.html

Top 100 April Fools Day Hoaxes Of All Time

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/top100.html 

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."

 

[FineLinen]

Flying Together Or Flying Alone

If you're a photographer, you love seagulls. They soar so gracefully, almost like they're posing for the camera. They're beautiful - when they're alone. When they're together, they are not so beautiful. One gets on a perch, another comes to knock him off. One gets some food, others attack him for it. Scientists put a red band on the leg of one seagull to find out what happened, and he was pecked to death by the other gulls because he had something they didn't.

Now contrast that with those Canada Geese some of us see migrating in the Spring and the Fall.

 They do everything together. Studies show that those geese almost always travel together, usually in those familiar V-formations. They rotate who's in front so one bird doesn't wear out. Now, if one Canada goose is injured and can't go on, another goose will stay with him until he's ready to join another flock...they're never left alone. The scientists even believe that the honking that we hear is actually the geese cheerleading for each other - "Honk! You can make it!" "Honk! Mexico or bust!"

Seated Together In Heavenly Places

The bottom line on those geese from those who study them is this: they are able to fly up to 71% farther together than they could ever fly alone. So are we who belong to Jesus Christ. We're able to fly a whole lot farther together than we ever could by ourselves. It's just too bad that so many of us are more seagull than goose - we're up there soaring all by ourselves, doing our thing, but missing the power of flying together with other brothers and sisters.

That is demonstrated in Acts 2:44..

  "All the believers were together and had everything in common...Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, enjoying the favor of all the people."

Part of the power of these original believers was that they were geese, not gulls. They looked out for one another, provided for each other, and they pursued the Lord together. And they were powerful. The next verse says,

 "The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

 Now when's the last time you saw that happening? But then, when's the last time you saw believers together like that? The "geese" principle actually applies to your family, to your business, to the ministry you're in, to the relationships between believers in your church, and to the relationships between believers in your church with those in other churches. - we can fly a lot farther together than we could ever fly alone!

But whether it's your church, your family, or another group, you have to fight to keep the flock together - because too many of us are solo-flying seagulls at heart. Here's Paul's blueprint for keeping the flock together - see how much this describes how you're acting.

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit...(Ephesians 4:2, 3).

 That's "effort" as in "keep working at everyone staying together". Maybe you're in a situation where it's getting to be cliques, power blocs, little personal kingdoms, personal egos, personal agendas, and polarizing individualism. Don't get sucked into that. Do whatever you have to do to keep or pull the flock together - write a letter, bring people together, get people praying together, ask for forgiveness, or help folks keep their eye on a mission that unites rather than issues that divide them. If you need to, tell them about the gulls and the geese.

It's time to bring the flock together - and see how far we can fly when we are flying together.

 

Abba Father

http://newhopemusic.com/abba.htm

 

 

[FineLinen]

When We Give Thanks By Sidney B. Simon

We always celebrated Dad's November birthday on Thanksgiving Day, even after he entered a nursing home. As years went on, these events took on a double meaning for me - a traditional birthday party for Dad, and a personal thanking for all he had been to me in my life.

The Last Birthday

When we knew that it might be his last birthday, the whole family decided to rearrange Thanksgiving plans and come together for a huge Grandpa Simon birthday celebration at the nursing home. It was a crowded party with lots of noise and abundant food. Dad was having the time of his life. He was a marvelous storyteller, and here was the biggest captive audience he'd ever had. The party crackled around him.

During a quiet moment, I announced that it was now Dad's turn to listen to some stories for a change. I wanted everyone to tell Grandpa Simon what we loved about him. The room became still, and even Dad was quiet as his family crowded around him, like subjects around the throne.

One after another, people told stories from their hearts, while Dad listened with wet, flashing blue eyes. People recalled all kinds of lost memories - stories about when they were little, stories about when Dad was young, stories that are shared family treasures.

Then someone told the story of Mother and the vase...


My mother was a short stocky woman, who always bent over the table to read the newspaper. Leaning her elbows on the table to support her chin, her body made a perfect right angle. One night, Dad placed her precious gold-plated vase, a family heirloom, right on her fanny at her body's angle. She couldn't move, couldn't stop from laughing, and screamed for help through her tears, while the vase teetered precariously. We all rolled on the floor laughing until Dad finally rescued the vase.

The stories flowed.

Each one seemed to trigger the memory of two more. Even the littlest grandchildren couldn't wait to tell Dad why they loved him. For a man who had been kind to so many hundreds of people in his life, here was our chance to celebrate him.

A few months later, at Dad's memorial service, we more fully realized what we had given Dad that night. Those were the stories people normally tell at a funeral, after a loved one is no longer around to hear the words. They are told, then, full of tears, with the hope that the departed will somehow hear the outpouring of love. But we had given those loving memories to Dad in life, told through laughter, accompanied by hugs and joy. He had them to hold and roll over in his mind during his last months and days.

Words do matter, and they are enough.

We just need to say them, to speak them publicly to the ones we love, for everyone else to hear. That's the way to give back love, and our chance to celebrate a person in life.

 

[FineLinen]

Flowers On The Bus (Author Unknown)

We were a very motley crowd of people who took the bus every day that summer 33 years ago. During the early morning ride from the suburb, we sat drowsily with our collars up to our ears, a cheerless and taciturn bunch.

One of the passengers was a small grey man who took the bus to the centre for senior citizens every morning. He walked with a stoop and a sad look on his face when he, with some difficulty, boarded the bus and sat down alone behind the driver. No one ever paid very much attention to him.

Then one July morning he said good morning to the driver and smiled short-sightedly down through the bus before he sat down. The driver nodded guardedly. The rest of us were silent.

And A Very Good Morning To You All

The next day, the old man boarded the bus energetically, smiled and said in a loud voice: "And a very good morning to you all!" Some of us looked up, amazed, and murmured "Good morning," in reply.

The following weeks we were more alert. Our friend was now dressed in a nice old suit and a wide out-of-date tie. The thin hair had been carefully combed. He said good morning to us every day and we gradually began to nod and talk to each other.

One morning he had a bunch of wild flowers in his hand. They were already dangling a little because of the heat. The driver turned around smilingly and asked: "Have you got yourself a girlfriend, Charlie?" We never got to know if his name really was "Charlie", but he nodded shyly and said yes.

The other passengers whistled and clapped at him. Charlie bowed and waved the flowers before he sat down on his seat.

Every morning after that Charlie always brought a flower. Some of the regular passengers began bringing him flowers for his bouquet, gently nudged him and said shyly: "Here." Everyone smiled. The men started to jest about it, talk to each other, and share the newspaper.

The summer went by, and autumn was closing in, when one morning Charlie wasn't waiting at his usual stop. When he wasn't there the next day and the day after that, we started wondering if he was sick or -- hopefully -- on holiday somewhere.

When we came nearer to the centre for senior citizens, one of the passengers asked the driver to wait. We all held our breaths when she went to the door.

Yes, the staff said, they knew who we were talking about. The elderly gentleman was fine, but he hadn't been coming to the centre that week. One of his very close friends had died at the weekend. They expected him back on Monday. How silent we were the rest of the way to work.

The next Monday Charlie was waiting at the stop, stooping a bit more, a little bit more grey, and without a tie. He seemed to have shrinked again. Inside the bus was a silence akin to that in a church. Even though no one had talked about it, all those of us, who he had made such an impression on that summer, sat with our eyes filled with tears and a bunch of wild flowers in our hands

 

[FineLinen]

Greetings again friends. There are many wonderful things that surround us if we have eyes to see. I am now examing "The Golden Section" found throughout our world. In the process I have found a link that has a number of excellent stories.

Lunatics At A Football

Fans at a football game found themselves perplexed by the seemingly random cheers of other fans at the game. The home team was losing badly, yet in the middle of a huddle a number of people across the stadium jumped out of their seats and a let out a huge cheer. Minutes later, during a time out, another cheer was heard across the stadium. Who were these lunatics? What the heck were they cheering about? They seemed completely out of touch with reality and people began to feel uncomfortable being around them.

Am I Missing Something?

What the fans sitting in glum silence didn't realize though was that only miles away, the city's major league baseball team was making a stunning comeback and was about to lock in its place in the World Series. The cheering fans weren't lunatics at all. They were all listening to the game on portable radios and responding in unison to the play-by-play broadcast. They were simply tuned into something that the others couldn't perceive and were participating in both games at once.

Believers Are Out Of Their Seats

For years I thought that people who believed in God were not just out of their seats, but out of their minds. Who the heck were they worshiping and praising? They seemed so irrational and completely out of touch with reality, and frankly I felt quite uncomfortable around them. What I've since discovered is that they were simply tuned into something that I wasn't. While I was only participating in the physical part of life's existence, they were participating in both the physical and spiritual at once.

I've now turned to God as well, through prayer, worship and scripture, and know what it's like to have my life touched by His presence, love and counsel. I share in the praises of the believers, but I also remember what it's like to be sitting in an uncomfortable spiritual silence. It needn't be that way though. We've all been given the ability to hear the quiet voice that stirs within the soul, to know the insight that comes from an understanding beyond our own. All we need to do is to tune in to a different frequency ... and a Higher Power.

"Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 12:28-30

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."
Words of Jesus Christ in John 14:16-17

"The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Words of Jesus Christ in John 14:26

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16

"We're not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience." Author unknown 


Those Who Seek God Will Find Him

http://snapshotsofgod.com/cont-git.htm

God Reveals Himself

http://snapshotsofgod.com/cont-jes.htm

What's Wrong With This Picture?

http://snapshotsofgod.com/whatwrng.htm 

God Is Not A Religion

http://snapshotsofgod.com/cont-rel.htm 

God Changes Us

http://snapshotsofgod.com/cont-chg.htm

Thoughts On Human Nature

http://snapshotsofgod.com/cont-oth.htm

Touched By His Presence

http://snapshotsofgod.com/conclusion.htm

Friends, the past couple of months has meant much to me. I never thought this link would have grown to this point in the beginning when Ragman was posted. There are still many stories that exist, and those yet to be born, as different ones experience the goodness of our gracious Lord. I will be leaving you in another 8 or 9 days trusting to return again to the Ragman in a month or so. Why don't each of you that read this little link find a story or two to bless others with? Remember, the Body of Christ grows through the due activity of each part. May God richly bless each of us as our roots run deep into His glorious Presence....In His grasp, David

 

 

[FineLinen]

Our Lord Dwells In A Large Abode

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000709.html

Seeing God In A Bubble Chamber

http://snapshotsofgod.com/chamber.htm

"Who says the Eternal Being does not exist? Who says the sun has gone out? Someone who climbs on his roof and closes his eyes as says, I don't see anything." Rumi

"God does not play dice with the universe." Albert Einstein

"God not only plays dice, but sometimes He throws them where they cannot be seen."  Stephen Hawking

 

[aaron]

a

 

[FineLinen]

Hi there Aaron, good to see you again. I am enjoying the stories as well and am pleased others are blessed in the process.

The Optimist

There is a story of identical twins. One was a hope-filled optimist. “Everything is coming up roses!” The other was a said and hopeless pessimist. He thought that Murphy, as in Murphy’s Law, was an optimist. The worried parents of the boys brought them to the local psychologist.

He suggested to the parents a plan to balance the twins’ personalities. “On their next birthday, put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. Give the pessimist the best toys you can afford, and give the optimist a box of manure”. The parents followed these instructions and carefully observed the results.

When they peeked in on the pessimist, they heard him audibly complaining, “I don’t like the color of this computer…I’ll bet this calculator will break…I don’t like this game…I know someone who’s got a bigger toy car than this…”

Tiptoeing across the corridor, the parents peeked in and saw their little optimist gleefully throwing the manure up in the air. He was giggling. “You can’t fool me! Where there’s this much manure, there’s gotta be a pony!”

- Author Unknown

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

 

[FineLinen]

The Armed Guards

Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it on a list and said, "I'll pray for them later."? Or has anyone ever called you and said, "I need you to pray for me, I have this need."?

Read the following story. It may change the way that you may think about prayer and also the way you pray. A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan...

"While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point.

On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then traveled two days, overnight, and arrived home without incident.

Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city,I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, 'Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.

At this I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone out in that jungle campsite.

The young man pressed the point, however, and said, 'No sir, I was not the only person to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them.

It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.'"

At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day that this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story:

"On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?"

The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn't concerned with who they were-he was too busy counting how many men he saw.

There were 26.

 

[FineLinen]

Sadhu Sundar Singh walked in the Presence of Christ. Like Paul and Silas of old, his prison was his meeting-place with Christ. So sure was Sundar Singh's knowledge of Christ's continual presence with him that he expressed no surprise when the following event took place in his life.

When travelling through a wild part of Tibet and unable to enter the village because of the hostility of the people, Sundar Singh took refuge in a cave. He had not been there long when he saw a number of the village people approaching him with sticks and stones, and feeling that his end was near he commended his spirit to God in prayer. Within a few yards of him the men suddenly stood still, and falling back some paces began to whisper together. Then again they came forward and said to the Sadhu,

'Who is the other man with you in bright garments, and many more who surround you?'

He replied that there was no man with him, but with awe the men insisted that they saw a host of bright ones standing all round the cave. Then the men besought the Sadhu to accompany them to their homes, and going with them he spoke of Christ so that they feared and believed his words. He then knew that God had sent His angels to protect him in danger and to open the way for him to minister to these men.

 

http://newhopemusic.com/thine.htm

 

[BaBiDaNsTaR]

Aww David...8 or 9 days..! And that's a good idea about finding some stories to post while you're gone. I'm going to really try to find time to post stories. It takes awhile for me lol...i dunno why? Anyways talk to you when you get back!

By the way if anyone is looking for a book to read I recommend a book called "Sutter's Cross" by *something* Cramer. I can't remember his first name. It's a really gooooood book!!

 

[FineLinen]

Hi there Gina....Do the best you can on the stories. I know when you are 15 and going to school how busy one can be. Remember, homework comes first! I wish you could see the pile of books that are covering me today (I just printed off another 90 page document from the web.) I will however take your suggestion and attempt to find Sutter's Cross to add to the overload. I trust to be back with you again in about a month if our Lord sees fit to keep me chugging that long. In His love and grace, David

Red Marbles

During the waning years of the depression in a small southeastern Idaho community, I used to stop by Brother Miller's roadside stand for farm-fresh produce as the season made it available.

Food and money were still extremely scarce and bartering was used, extensively. One particular day Brother Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me.

I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas.

I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between brother Miller and the ragged boy next to me.

"Hello Barry, how are you today?"

"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas......
sure look good."

"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"

"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla'time."

"Good. Anything I can help you with "

"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."

"Would you like to take some home?"

"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."

"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"

"All I got's my prize aggie ? best taw around here."

"Is that right? Let me see it."

"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."

"I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red.

Do you have a red one like this at home?"

"Not 'zackley . . . but, almost."

"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red taw."

"Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller."

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said: "There are two other boys like him in our community; all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever.

When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps."

I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with this man.A short time later I moved to Utah but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys and their bartering.

Several years went by each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Brother Miller had died.

They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them.

Upon our arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could. Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an Army uniform and the other two wore short haircuts, dark suits and white shirts, obviously potential or returned missionaries.

They approached Mrs. Miller, standing smiling and composed, by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. Eyes glistening she took my hand and led me to the casket.

"This is an amazing coincidence," she said. "Those three young men, that just left, were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them.

Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size... they came to pay their debt. We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but, right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three, magnificently shiny, red marbles.

 

[FineLinen]

Today we have a letter to mom from her young son on a camping trip. God bless you all friends, I hope to see you again in a month. In His gracious hands, David

http://www.lovethissite.com/camp/

 

[FineLinen]

I hereby tender my resignation as an adult!

http://www.lovethissite.com/resignation/

 

[FineLinen]

THE MATCHLESS PEARL

David Morse -- American missionary to India -- became great friends there with the pearl-diver, Rambhau. Many an evening he spent in Rambhau's cabin reading to him from the Bible, and explaining to him God's way of salvation.

Too Easy For Me

Rambhau enjoyed listening to the Word of God, but whenever the missionary tried to get Rambhau to accept Christ as his Savior -- he would shake his head and reply, "Your Christian way to heaven is too easy for me! I cannot accept it. If ever I should find admittance to heaven in that manner -- I would feel like a pauper there...like a beggar who has been let in out of pity. I may be proud -- but I want to deserve, I want to earn my place in heaven -- and so I am going to work for it."

Nothing the missionary could say seemed to have any effect on Rambhau's decision, and so quite a few years slipped by. One evening, however, the missionary heard a knock on his door, and on going to open it he found Rambhau there.

"Come in, dear friend," said Morse.

"No," said the pearl-diver. "I want you to come with me to my house, Sahib, for a short time -- I have something to show you. Please do not say 'No'."

I Will Purchase Eternal Bliss

"Of course I'll come," replied the missionary. As they neared his house, Rambhau said: "In a week's time I start working for my place in heaven; I am leaving for Delhi -- and I am going there on my knees."

"Man, you are crazy! It's nine hundred miles to Delhi, and the skin will break on your knees, and you will have blood-poisoning or leprosy before you get to Bombay."

"No, I must get to Delhi," affirmed Rambhau, "and the immortals will reward me for it! The suffering will be sweet -- for it will purchase heaven for me!"

"Rambhau, my friend -- you can't. How can I bear you to do it -- when Jesus Christ has suffered and 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 by me in sickness, in want -- you have been sometimes my only friend. But even you cannot turn me from my desire to purchase eternal bliss...I must go to Delhi!"

Inside the hut Morse was seated in the very chair Rambhau had specially built for him -- where on so many occasions he had read to him the Bible.

My Only Son

Rambhau left the room to return soon with a small but heavy English strongbox. "I have had this box for years," said he, "and 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 before said a word about him!"

"No, Sahib, I couldn't." Even as he spoke the diver's eyes were moistened.

"Now I must tell you, for soon I will leave, and who knows whether I shall ever return? My son was a diver too. He was 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 ever sought for
pearls.

The Perfect Pearl

What joy he brought to me! Most pearls, as you know, have some defect or blemish only the expert can discern, but my boy always dreamed of finding the 'perfect' pearl -- one beyond all that was ever found. One day he found it! But even when he saw it -- he had been under water too long... That pearl cost him his life, for he died soon after."

The old pearl diver bowed his head. For a moment his whole body shook, but there was no sound. "All these years," he continued, "I have kept this pearl -- but now I am going, not to return, and to you, my best friend -- I am giving my pearl."

The old man worked the combination on the strongbox and drew from it 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 glowed with a luster and brilliance never seen in cultured pearls. It would have brought a fabulous sum in any market.

Let Me Buy It

For a moment the missionary was speechless and gazed with awe. "Rambhau! What a pearl!" "That pearl, Sahib, is perfect," replied the Indian quietly. The missionary looked up quickly with a new thought: Was not this the very opportunity and occasion he had prayed for -- to make Rambhau understand the value of Christ's sacrifice? So he said, designedly, "Rambhau, this is a wonderful pearl, an amazing pearl. Let me buy it. I would give you ten thousand dollars for it."

"Sahib! What do you mean?"

"Well, I will give you fifteen thousand dollars for it, or if it takes more -- I will work for it."

"Sahib," said Rambhau, stiffening his whole body, "this pearl is beyond price. No man in all the world has money enough to pay what this pearl is worth to me. On the market a million dollars could not buy it. I will not sell it to you. 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..."

Beyond Means

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 money. Its worth is in the life-blood of my son. I cannot sell this -- but I can give it to you. Just accept it in token of the love I bear you."

The missionary was choked, and for a moment could not speak. Then he gripped the hand of the old man. "Rambhau," he said in a low voice, "don't you see? My words are just what you have been saying to God all the time."

The diver looked long and searchingly at the missionary, and slowly, slowly he began to understand. "God is offering you salvation as a free gift," said the missionary. "It is so great and priceless that no man on earth can buy it. Millions of dollars are too little. No man on earth could earn it. His life would be millions of years too short. No man is good enough to deserve it. It cost God the life-blood of His only Son to make the entrance for you into heaven. In a million years, in a hundred pilgrimages, you could not earn that entrance. All you can do is to accept it as a token of God's love for you -- a sinner.

"Rambhau, of course I will accept the pearl in deep humility, praying God that I may be worthy of your love. Rambhau, won't you accept God's great gift of heaven, too, in deep humility, knowing it cost Him the death of His Son to offer it to you?"

Great tears were now rolling down the cheeks of the old man. The veil was beginning to lift. "Sahib, I see it now. I have believed in the doctrine of Jesus for the last two years, but I could not believe that His salvation was free. Now I understand. Some things are too priceless to be bought or earned. Sahib, I will accept His salvation!"

"From afar the Lord appeared to me saying, My love for you is an eternal love: so with mercy I have made you come with Me." Jeremiah 31:3

 

[FineLinen]

SPECIAL THOUGHTS

It was a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. The old man's beard was glazed by winter's frost while he waited for a ride across the river. The wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind.

He heard the faint, steady rhythm of approaching hooves galloping along the frozen path. Anxiously, he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass by without an effort to get his attention. Then another passed by, and another.

Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue. As this one drew near, the old man caught the rider's eye and said,

"Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn't appear to be a passageway by foot."

Reining his horse, the rider replied, "Sure thing. Hop aboard." Seeing the old man was unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman dismounted and helped the old man onto the horse.

The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination, which was just a few miles away.

As they neared the tiny but cozy cottage, the horseman's curiosity caused him to inquire, "Sir, I notice that you let several other riders pass by without making an effort to secure a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I'm curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you there?"

The old man lowered himself slowly down from the horse, looked the rider straight in the eyes, and replied, "I've been around these here parts for some time. I reckon I know people pretty good."

The old-timer continued, "I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were evident. I knew, then and there, that your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need."

Those heartwarming comments touched the horseman deeply. "I'm most grateful for what you have said," he told the old man. "May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion."

With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.