Yes, it was true—he was going blind! Eighteen-year-old Loi Faat walked slowly down the dusty road of his small Chinese town. A smallpox epidemic had killed many of his family and friends. He himself had almost died, but his strong, young body had been able to fight off the disease. He thought he had completely recovered until his eyes began bothering him. At first he did not think much about it, but then his eyes got worse. Within a few weeks he was almost totally blind. Now, a doctor had told him he could not help him—there was no hope!
Loi Faat thought about what he would do now. He wondered if it would not be easier to die than to live as a blind beggar. He knew his family could not take care of him. Like many others he would have to spend the rest of his life begging— “Alms? Alms?” What a future for someone who had made such good plans for his life!
The weeks passed and Loi Faat’s eyes were now completely blind. Life for him was useless. Most days he thought about the easiest way to end his life. Nearby was a river that he had enjoyed swimming in many times. Now he decided that drowning in this river was the only thing left to do.
For Loi Faat this seemed the easiest way out of his difficulty. He had never read a Bible nor heard about the love of God. He did not know anything about the Lord Jesus Christ. In China they worshipped idols. To him it seed that death would be far better than the unhappiness of being one of the blind beggars of China.
It was a cold night. Loi Faat put on his heavy winter clothes before walking down the path toward the river. He had followed this path many times, so he did not need a guide. At the edge of the river he waited only a moment before jumping into the water.
But God was watching. He loved Loi Faat, and He had another plan for his life. The quilted clothes he was wearing held many little pockets of air and acted like a life preserver. Instead of sinking, Loi Faat floated and was carried down the river by the current.
About a mile down from where Loi Faat had jumped into the river, God had sent a Christian fisherman to fish during the quiet night hours. Hoi Chun was using a large net to catch fish. Just as Loi Faat was floating by, the old fisherman began to draw in his net. God’s plan was unfolding.
As Hoi Chun pulled in the net, he said to himself, “My net is very heavy! I have caught something large!”
As he pulled the net to shore and reached in for the fish, his hand touched Loi Faat. “Oh, it’s a man, it’s a man!” cried the old fisherman. “And he is alive! Yes, it’s a man, and he is still alive!”
With great difficulty Hoi Chun half carried and half dragged the nearly unconscious Loi Faat to his little hut up on the bank. He built up a fire to warm Loi Faat and to dry his clothes.
Hoi Chun was not only a man who caught fish, but he knew the promise of the Lord Jesus— “I will make you... fishers of men.” Mark 1:1717And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (Mark 1:17). At once he cast in his “gospel line.” Tears came to his eyes as he talked to Loi Faat and told him about the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved him and wanted to save him from his hopeless life and everlasting judgment.
Hoi Chun remembered the stories in the Bible about the Lord Jesus healing blind men’s eyes and he told Loi Faat all about them. Then he explained that Christ may not cure his eyes of blindness, but could cure his heart of blindness.
Loi Faat listened closely to everything Hoi Chun told him. He soon saw his need of a Saviour, and looking up through blind eyes he said, “Lord Jesus, I give my life to Thee. Save me now.”
The Lord Jesus always hears these simple calls from hearts that accept the love and mercy He offers. Loi Faat was saved, and it was not long before others heard his story.
He began to tell others about what Christ had done for him. Many listened to the amazing story that he told, of how God had pulled him from the river, saving him from both drowning and from everlasting judgment. He told the gospel in a simple but effective way. The old fisherman was his teacher, and later Hoi Chun passed him on to others who were able to teach him more. But Loi Faat’s gospel message along with his Christian life was a miracle in itself. When he spoke others saw that it was from his heart, and many believed.
God opened China to Loi Faat, the blind gospel preacher. He traveled the dusty roads from village to village and into the big cities. He learned to read the braille Bible, and carried it with him every place he went. Walking the dusty roads or riding the river boats, his message was the same: “I have been snatched from death by the hand of God, and I have been saved by the blood of Jesus.”
Although this story took place in a country far from where we live, Loi Faat’s good news is for us, too. If any of you reading this story have not accepted the Lord Jesus as your Saviour, you are on your way to a lost eternity. God saved Loi Faat, and He wants to save you. We are telling the very same message— “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7). Won’t you accept this salvation that is now being offered? It may not be offered again, so do not wait any longer. Admit that you are a sinner and need to be saved. Call on the Lord Jesus to save you. He is waiting.
ML-06/27/1982