A young Hindu lived in Allahabad, a large city in northern India situated at the junction of the sacred rivers Ganges and Yamuna, which was visited every year by many pilgrims. This poor young man aroused pity simply by his appearance. His face was disfigured by pockmarks, and he was blind. The terrible disease had struck him in early childhood and robbed him of his sight. Many years had passed since then.
One day a missionary spoke to him on the street, saying, “Do you know who the Lord Jesus is?”
“I heard his name mentioned a long time ago,” replied the blind man. “Please tell me more about Him!”
The missionary gladly complied with this request. He began to tell the attentive young man the old, yet ever-new story of the Son of God who came into the world to save sinners. With special warmth he lingered over the account of the Good Shepherd, who seeks what is lost until He finds it.
As he spoke, the blind man’s face changed noticeably. A joyful smile beautified his disfigured features. As his ears heard these wonderful things, the knowledge of God’s love began to dawn in the heart darkened by superstition, just as the sun rises brightly in the morning after a dark night. Astonishingly, in a short time, the poor blind man grasped what he had just heard.
“Oh!” he cried after the missionary had finished, “I must belong to Him! Yes, I belong to Him. I want to be baptized, and I no longer want to be called by my old name. I want to be called David. Just like David, I want to sing of His love and grace.”
In his story the missionary had also spoken of David, the poet-king of ancient times, who spoke and sang so many wonderful things about the coming King. Our young Indian friend wanted to be like him.
From that day on, the blind Hindu could often be seen with his teacher. In the eyes of people he was still the same poor, pitiable man as before. In truth, however, he had become someone else, a new person. Certainly, he remained blind as far as his physical sight was concerned, but his spiritual eyes had been opened wide. He had glimpsed the Sanctuary, and what he had seen there caused his heart to overflow with joy.
Every day he visited the missionary to receive his “daily bread”. It was not food for the body, but the Bread of Life: a passage from the Word of God that his teacher read aloud to him, which he could meditate on all day long.
One morning, when he came to the missionary as usual, he looked very troubled. Since this was quite unusual for him, it immediately caught his friend’s attention, and he asked what had happened.
“Ah, sir,” said David, as he had been called from the day of his conversion onward according to his wish, “I wish I could read!”
“But David,” replied the missionary in surprise, “you must not wish for something impossible. You are blind.”
“Yes, that is true,” David answered, “but I have heard that a script has been invented that blind people can read. And there is even supposed to be a Bible printed in this script. Can you not tell me something about it?”
The missionary certainly could; but he saw no way of obtaining such an expensive Bible for his poor pupil. He therefore thought it better to dissuade him from the idea than to give him hope of which fulfillment was very doubtful. But David would not be turned away. “Sir,” he pleaded in a touching tone, “will you not pray with me that my heavenly Father may send me His book and teach me to read in it?”
The missionary could not refuse this request. So, they knelt down and prayed. But, as the missionary later admitted, he did so with little faith that the prayer would be answered.
Three months passed. As before, David came day after day to receive his “daily bread.” But he never again mentioned his wish with a single word.
One morning the missionary was sitting on his veranda. Then hurried footsteps came up the stairs. There was loud knocking at the door, and a voice trembling with excitement called out, “Are you there, sir?!”
“Yes, what is it?”
David entered. One could see that he was extremely excited. “Sir,” he cried, “just now someone on the street put this package into my hand and said, ‘Poor blind boy, I have long felt drawn to you. Here is something for you; I hope it will be a blessing to you.’ What could it be, sir? Please open it quickly!”
The missionary cut the string. He expected to find a piece of clothing or something similar in the package. But how surprised he was when he saw the contents! Inside the wrapping lay a book with the title:
The Gospel According to John, in Braille
He scarcely dared to believe his eyes. But who can describe the delight of the poor blind man when he heard what he had received!
“I knew it!” he rejoiced. “I knew that my heavenly Father would grant my request if I only had patience! It is my Father’s book, His own gift!” With that he pressed the Gospel to his chest and kissed it long and tenderly.
The first thing the two men did was to kneel down and thank the Lord for this new proof of His love. Then David immediately set about the task of learning to read. Because he had such eagerness and love for the matter, he made rapid progress. In a relatively short time, he overcame the great difficulties and was soon able, though slowly, to read in his precious book.
One day—he could now read fluently—he came again to his teacher and said, “I can read now. But I do not want to keep the wonderful things that come to me daily just for myself. There are hundreds among my people who long for this book just as I do.”
And what do you think he did next? The following morning, he tied his book around his neck, went out into the street, and began to read aloud from it, letting his index finger glide over the lines. One of the first verses he read was: “I am the Good Shepherd; the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
One can imagine what a sensation the man caused. To hear a blind man reading in the street—such a sight was not an everyday occurrence. And so, he found many listeners. Most of them listened merely out of curiosity. Many also laughed at him. But that did not trouble him. He was content to know that in this way some were able to hear the Word of God.
And this love for his Savior and his desire to witness for Him did not grow cold. After some time, David devoted himself entirely to the service of the Lord. He went from place to place and read God’s Word everywhere. Later he became a reader in an institution for the blind. Many of his fellow sufferers came to faith in the Lord Jesus through him and became happy children of God.
This story has something to say to every one of us. To one it says: Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has also laid down His life for you. To another: If this poor blind Hindu found a way to serve his Lord, should there not also be a way for you to serve your Lord and Savior?
From: “Seeds to Sow” (Samenkörner)
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