Alhaji (one who has been to Mecca) came to our hospital for TB treatment. He became very interested in the stories of Jesus told by SIM missionary, Esther Grant, and would regularly call others to come listen with him when she arrived to teach them. He even inquired how he might receive this forgiveness that Jesus offers.
Then he returned to his home village some distance away. He failed to come to replenish his medication. A year passed by before he returned in very poor health. During that time Esther and folks at home had prayed for him almost daily that he would receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. Prayer is powerful. Upon his return to the hospital, Esther asked him if he had received Jesus yet. His reply was, “No, I’m waiting until I get well.” Knowing that he might not get well, she asked me to visit him and share the gospel again.
I had just been reading Billy Graham’s book. Questions and Answers about the sin that God does not forgive. When I visited Alhaji, I asked him, “Do you know the sin which God will not forgive?” “No,” he replied, “you’ll have to tell me.” I explained that it is rejecting Jesus, whom God sent to pay the price for our sin. A short while later, Alhaji said softly, “I want Jesus, I want Jesus, I want Jesus.” Saying something three times in that culture indicates the person is very serious about the matter. Alhaji then prayed to receive Jesus.
The next day when I greeted him with the regular, “How did you sleep, Alhaji?” he replied, “Yesterday…” pausing for several deep breaths because his lungs were very poor, “…yesterday I didn’t know where I was with God but today I know. I’ve been forgiven!”
The next morning when I asked again about his sleep, he said, “I didn’t sleep last night. I’ve been in the darkness but now I’ve come to the light!!” Later as I shared truths about heaven with him, Alhaji lifted his hands toward heaven and with a nearly toothless smile said, “If God calls me today, or tomorrow or the next day, praise the Lord!” When I asked if I could share his story with folks back home, he simply said, “Tell everyone!”
Alhaji went to be with the Lord a few short months later but his testimony is still powerful as I continue to share it now. He is dead, yet he lives. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25-26a
Like Alhaji, so many in our broken world are struggling in the darkness. They need to know that Jesus not only died for their sins so they can have a living relationship with their Creator but they also need to know that Jesus lives today in the heart of every believer through the power of the Holy Spirit. He offers not only eternal life but also abundant life here and now! This is the message of HOPE our world still needs to hear in 2009! Please help us “TELL EVERYONE” !
As told by SIM retiree Bev Botheras.
