Let an African missionary tell us a story of how he learned the word for “Saviour” in the language of the African savages.
“When I went to a certain part of Africa where I wished to tell the story of the love of God in sending a Saviour, I found that the natives had no written language. I had to listen to their conversations with one another, and try to find in this way the words that I could use to tell them of Jesus. One word I listened for, and never heard. Two and a half years went by, and it seemed as though I would never make the people understand my message until I found out the word I wanted. That word was ‘Saviour.’
“One night, I heard some of the men telling stories of adventures. One related how his master had rescued him from a lion. I listened eagerly, hoping to catch the word — the long-sought word. The story was finished and the word was not spoken. Eagerly I went up to the man when he had finished and asked him what he called the master when he had saved him from the lion. At once he gave me the longed for word, the word that means Saviour in that part of Africa. With joy I told him that God had sent a ‘Saviour’ and that Jesus would be His Saviour from sin, if he would accept Him.
“With joy on his face he caught the message at once, and cried out, ‘Is that what you have been trying to tell us all this time?’
“I spent four years in Africa. For fourteen months I never saw bread. For months I have lived on African beans and sour milk. I have eaten everything from ants to rhinoceros’ flesh. But I would go through it all again for the joy of that moment when I heard the word ‘Saviour’ and saw the light on that man’s face when the message touched his heart!”
My young friend, do you know in your heart the meaning of that word—SAVIOUR?
ML 02/22/1953