“Chup Shah”, as he was called was a Sikh in the Far East. Most Sikhs are heathen, and know nothing of the true God and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He had been searching for God ever since he was a small boy, and in his native village he had been called “Chup Shah”—King of Silence—for he had not been like the rest of the children. He was solemn and quiet, always hoping to see the great God.
One day he met a leader of the Sikhs, and asked him if he could show him God. “Yes, within three weeks,” replied the leader. “You must learn the mantras (prayers) thoroughly and then put your fingers in your ears and listen to the divine music. The more you recite the mantras, the more light will come into your heart.”
Chup Shah looked forward with great joy to the prospect of seeing God and gladly accompanied the leader to Tarn Taran, the sacred city of the Hindus and Sikhs. There he was introduced to the Guru, or great leader of the Sikhs, but Chup Shah was deeply disappointed and came away sad at heart—he had not seen God.
His search continued. He went on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas, for he thought perhaps God dwelt in the mountains, but he had to turn back for lack of money. Then he decided to dig a cell under his house in which he could meditate. “Surely then,” he argued, “I shall see Him face to face.”
Once again he went to Tarn Taran at new moon so he could bathe in the sacred lake and wash away his sins. While there, he saw a poster outside a mission saying “God is Love.” How fascinated he was by those sweet words! He had never heard them before.
“Supposing they are not true,” Chup Shah said to himself, but then he thought, “If there is a loving God He must love me too!”
He went to the mission bungalow and asked the missionaries to explain to him the mystery of God’s love. How glad they were to tell him the precious message that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). Chup Shah believed at once and received the Lord Jesus into his heart. At last he had found God.
He was baptized on the day of the new moon when vast crowds were passing by intent on washing away their sins in the sacred lake. But Chup Shah knew that Jesus had washed all his sins away in His own blood, that they were forever gone, and that he need fear no more.
ML 12/17/1961