How little Star found the Living God. Part 2.
I TOLD you last week how the poor little heathen girl first heard of the living God, and how she drank in the wonderful words; they were truly living water to a thirsty soul. Today I must tell you how she came to learn a little more about our blessed God, and His beloved Son, Jesus. The morning after she heard for the first time of a living God, little Star rose from her bed with a new feeling of happiness within her. All the world looked different and she danced as she walked. Being only such a little girl, she was not confined to her own house, as most of the grown-up women in India are, but was allowed to go where she liked, only of course not to defiling places, as they consider a Christian camp to be.
But Star found her way, notwithstanding this, to the tent where a lady missionary was teaching a number of little brown children. She sat on the floor of the tent with the rest, and learned a verse of a hymn, which she found quite easy to understand. Nevertheless it was all very new to our little girl, as she afterwards said, “My heart was like a little room, it could not hold much, only I understood that the true God heard us when we prayed, and very dearly loved us all.”
When the short lesson was over, Star ran home thinking of all she had heard.
“I will pray to the living God,” she said to herself; “I will ask Him for three things, and if He answers two of the three, I shall be quite sure He hears me and loves me.” When she got home, her mother was standing on the doorstep with a switch in her hand. This meant a whipping. Quick as thought she prayed, “O Living God, do not let my mother whip me.”
Her mother caught her by the arm, “Where have you been, you naughty child? O you evil one, come here. You have been to those low-caste people!” And a stinging lash of the switch on her little bare arms and shoulders. was all the answer she saw to her prayer.
But she kept quiet. A sort of peace was in her heart, she remembered the missionary had said she might be punished for listening, but that God would be with her and help her to bear it. The mother mistook the child’s unwonted patience, however, for sullenness, and exclaimed, “Have you no feeling, are you perverted already?” and forthwith gave her a second whipping. Then Star could keep back the tears and sobs no longer, and cried herself to sleep that night.
However, next day saw her at the camp again; she felt she must hear more, although it might end in another whipping for disobeying her mother, as she had not yet learned, “Children, obey your parents, in all things.”
This day she heard for the first time of the Lord Jesus, of His great love, and of what He had done for her salvation. “This is the living God,” she said to herself as she ran home, and again she prayed, “O Jesus, Living God, out of three prayers, answer two.”
Her way led through a road bordered by tamarind trees. The ripe fruit hung low. “But it is stealing to gather fruit; you may only eat it, if it falls of itself.’ She stopped, she prayed, “O Jesus, Living God! make the fruit fall.” And a pod fell at her feet.
“One out of two; that leaves one to show for certain whether He really is hearing and loving,” she thought as she ran along, quickly now, for it was dark, and punishment was most probable.
“Jesus, Living God,” she prayed as she raced up almost breathless, to the door, “don’t let my mother whip me. O Jesus, Living God, listen to me!” How her heart thumped as she saw her mother standing on the step. But she had no switch this time in her hand; drawing her little daughter affectionately into the house, she only said, “I thought you were lost in the dark, my child. Come in and have your supper.”
This settled the question for little Star forever. She believed in the living God, He heard her, He cared for her, she would worship no other, pray to no other.
Another time, I must tell you how God opened the way for her to learn more about Himself, for I am sure you are all interested in this very real little girl, but in the mean while we must say good bye to little brown Star for the present.
ML 02/11/1912