One of Fifty

In Genesis 18, we see how Abraham interceded for the people of Sodom. In verses 20-21, we read: “And the Lord said, ‘There is a great cry in Sodom and Gomorrah, and their sins are very grievous. Therefore I will go down and see if they have done all according to the cry that has come before Me.’”

Then Abraham stopped and asked: “Perhaps there are fifty righteous people in the city; will you kill them and not forgive the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people who are there?” (verse 24). – Now God’s Word shows us that Abraham went from 50 to 45, then to 30, 20, and down to 10 (verses 26-28).

But unfortunately, only Lot, Abraham’s nephew, with his wife and two daughters were saved in Sodom. But even this number of four was reduced to three because Lot’s wife turned against God’s command and became a pillar of salt.

My testimony: I am one of fifty!

After fleeing from the Russian army in 1945, I lived with my parents in a village in Lower Saxony, Germany. The B. family, who had been converted years before in the Church of God in West Prussia, lived here alongside many other refugees and held their family devotions in their home. When preacher brothers visited them from time to time, they also invited others from the village.

Immediately after 1945/46, refugees and also some local residents took advantage of this opportunity and came to the services. Many had began questioning inwardly as a result of the terrible events of the war. The mother of this family was the most motivated and prayed for the salvation of souls. Like Abraham, she also prayed for 50 souls.

But as the economic situation improved, the hunger for God’s Word dwindled. When invitations were extended, fewer and fewer people came. And when the family emigrated to Kitchener, Canada in the early 1950s – what remained? – Only one elderly woman regularly received the German version of the Foundation of Faith.

In the spring of 1962, I emigrated to Toronto, Canada. From there I wrote to my parents every week because I had promised my grandmother in particular that I would keep in touch by letter. In response to my letters, I received detailed letters from my parents about their daily chores and the like.

But my grandmother only wrote one or two sentences in each letter: “I’m praying for you…Why don’t you go to Kitchener to visit the B. family?”

But in Toronto I quickly made friends, got a job, was invited here and there on the weekends – to go water-skiing and the like. However, my grandma’s weekly pleas finally got me to take the bus and visit the B. family in Kitchener to satisfy her.

Looking back, I have to say that it was a miracle that I found the family, because I hadn’t taken an address with me. After about 2 ½ hours of searching: – it was the last road I wanted to go down, and then I wanted to turn back, preferring to spend every Saturday by the water with friends. But just before the road ended, a car reversed out of a driveway and I had to stop. A father and his son were sitting in the car. The man had his son, who was at the wheel, stop, rolled down the window, and spoke to me in German: “I know you; but who are you?”

When I gave my name, I was invited into the house. I also recognized Mother B. After I was introduced, I didn’t know what was going on in her thoughts. But years later she told me: “When you stood in the doorway shortly before noon that Saturday, the Lord said to me: ‘This is one of the fifty souls you prayed for years ago from the Lord.’” – She began to pray for me every day, and a little over a year  later I was able to find the Lord.

Yes, I am one of fifty! Brother, sister, let us ask and plead! And even if 100 or 30 don’t come, God can still save one, two, or many souls! It is not in vain, because God’s Word confirms this: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always increasing in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

H. D. Nimz