AMONG the many thousands of false gods worshiped in China, two of the principal ones are Confucius and Buddha. A Chinese, who had become a Christian, made use of this simple but interesting fable or allegory to illustrate the difference between Confucius or Buddha and the Lord Jesus Christ. Said he:
"A man had fallen into a deep, dark pit. He lay on its miry bottom wounded and bleeding, groaning piteously, and utterly unable to rise. Confucius, walking by, approached the edge of the pit, and said, 'Poor fellow! I am very sorry for you. Why were you such a fool as to get in there? Let me give you a piece of advice: if you ever get out, don't fall in again.'
" 'I can't get out,' groaned the unfortunate man.
"A Buddhist priest came by next. He leaned over and gazed awhile at the suffering man, and said: 'Poor fellow! I am very much pained to see you there. I think if you could manage to scramble up two-thirds of the way, or even half, I could reach you and lift you up the rest.'
"But the man in the pit was entirely helpless. He could not stand upon his feet, or even move a limb.
"Next Jesus came by. He heard the cries; He went down to the very bottom of the pit. He reached out His almighty arm and took hold of the poor man. He brought him up out of the horrible pit and miry clay. He healed his wounds; He set his feet upon a rock and established his goings. He put a new song into his mouth, a song of praise unto our God."
Messages of the Love of God 11/23/1958