-Author unknown
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. Rambhau enjoyed listening
to
the Word of God, but whenever the missionary tried to get= Rambhau to
accept
Christ as his Saviour -- 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'".
"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're 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.
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.
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 lustre and brilliance never seen in cultured pearls. It
would
have brought a fabulous sum in any market.
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..."
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 to 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 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!"
Back to Enlightening
Back to Solomons Cards
