His name was Buteve. I want to tell you how it was that he came to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus.
A missionary was preaching at a place some distance from where he lived, but the poor man was unable to go there, as disease had left both hands and feet deformed, and he was almost helpless — so much so, indeed, that he could only drag himself along on his knees.
One day the missionary came to the part of the country in which Buteve dwelt, and the poor man, hearing of it, dragged himself to where he was, and cried out in a joyous tone: “Servant of God, you are welcome, for you have brought the light upon this dark land. It is to you we owe the message of salvation.”
The astonished missionary ascertained by conversation with the poor cripple that he had a very clear knowledge of the foundation principles of divine truth, and that he had received the Lord Jesus as his Saviour.
“From whom have you heard these things?” he asked him.
“From you, of course. Who else has brought us the message of salvation?”
“Yes,” responded the missionary, “but I do not remember ever having seen you before.”
Then Buteve explained the riddle. “Whenever the people returned from the preaching I would drag myself to where I could intercept them, and would beg from one and another an explanation of the gospel. One would remember one thing and another, and so I would put together all these crumbs that fell from the table of God, and thus I found the Saviour and salvation and peace.”
Poor, dear man! How the Saviour loves to answer such faith as this! He hungered for the truth. Dear reader, do you?
ML 08/20/1961