Because we do follow-up research after launching a program or distributing a product, we gather not only statistics, but also inspiring stories that keep fueling us to do what we do. Here is one of them.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword,
it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12
One day a Muslim boy named Nassi bought some cheese from a street vendor. His purchase was wrapped in a page torn from the Bible. There was a paper shortage in Tehran, Iran, at the time, so the shopkeeper was using whatever he could find to wrap his merchandise in–even resorting to ripping pages out of the Holy Bible!
Nassi’s father warned him against reading the words printed on the paper, but Nassi read them anyway. He was so intrigued by what he read that he returned to the same street vendor the following day to ask him more about the mysterious book his cheese-wrapper had been torn from.
The crafty merchant promised to tell him more about the book, but only if he made another purchase. As Nassi continued to purchase cheese, figs and dates, he began to compile a sampling of snapshots from the Bible. Although not everything made sense, Nassi was compelled by the message he was piecing together and wanted to know more, so he searched out a Farsi-language Bible.
After reading the Bible, he chose to leave the church of Islam and become a follower of Christ. God moves in mysterious ways, for sure!
I am fired up by stories like this one, where God’s Word powerfully changes a life, even when there was no person or entity “driving” the spread of the gospel’s good news. It reminds me that it’s not me that is doing this great work, it is God’s powerful Word alone.
Just think, if one life can be changed almost “on accident” by cheese wrapped in the Scriptures, imagine the potential for impact when we are intentionally spreading His great truths to countless numbers of people!
What drives your passion to spread the Word of God?
This story was originally featured in my book, Hope Delivered.
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