T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
June 1932
250
When Kapite listened to this story, she was bowed un der its melting power, and she yielded her life to Christ. After her baptism, in a river alive with crocodiles, she immediately set out for her home—about a three hours’ walk. Gathering all her kith and kin, she said, “ Come around me. I want to tell you all about God’s Son. You have' never heard about Him, but I want to tell you.” In a very short time, the whole of that district was wonder fully evangelized through this one woman. To show you her devotion to her Lord, let me tell you this little incident. I had spoken on the text: “ Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich.” I tried to tell of the riches of Christ and all His glories and excellencies. I scarcely observed Kapite as I spoke. But evidently the Word had gripped her heart. The next morning, I found her standing on my veranda. She was clasping a strange-looking object to her breast, s I looked at her I said, “ Kapite, how have, you got up this morning?” “ Oh,” she said, “ I have got up all right. I have brought you something for Jesus.” “What have you brought, Kapite ?” I asked her. She presented me with an old enameled plate, about ten or fifteen years old, badly chipped along the edges. Lying on the plate were twenty or thirty glass beads, the kind that we use for buying food. “What has made you bring this gift ?” I asked. “ Oh,” she said, “ you told us that our Lord was very rich, and yet He became a poor Man—so poor that He had nowhere to lay His head. When I lay down last night, it all came to me, and I said, ‘Here I am, lying here with my head on my little wooden pillow, and my Lord didn’t have even a wooden pillow on which to lay His head.’ It all came sweeping over me that I ought to do something to ex press my appreciation for what He has done for me.” “ But what about this plate, Kapite?” I wanted to know. “Well,” she said, “ I looked about my little black hut
Using that line of approach, the heart of the African is gripped, and he bows and turns from spiritism and super stition and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord. F lourishing I ndigenous C hurches ll over the land today, there are various centers where we find our fellow workers, the missionaries, labor ing. But there aré many other centers. Hundreds of small churches have sprung up, indigenous-churches we call them, where there is no white man, but where the native Africans carry on in their own simple, primitive way. They meet every morning at five o’clock to commend each other to God before they go out to their fields. From ten to two hundred and fifty church members may be found in a vil lage. They have no grand buildings— just simple sheds covered with thatch and ornamented with reeds and bam boo. They are typically African. The natives build them at their own expense.. And God has raised up leaders among the people. Why shouldn’t He ? The Holy Spirit is ^till here, and the great Head of the Church still gives gifts of administration as He will. Oftentimes I have ob served in Africa that a man who could not read nor write, but whb had a prodigious memory, and who stored his mind with the rich things from the Word of God, would be used of the Holy Spirit to draw forth from that fund of knowl edge treasures both new and old. I myself have again and again been refreshed as I have been in one of these simple little African churches, just as a fellow worshiper, and have heard the Africans, one after another, offering praise to God for His great love. E vidences of the S pirit ’ s W ork Take, for instance, the case of our old friend, Kapekele. He evidently was passing through a very deep and serious trial. I knew nothing about it. It was prayer meeting night in this little African church. One after another, the people prayed. Then Kapekele arose to his feet, and addressing God in the most reverent way the African knoiVs, “ Great Chief, the Unraveller of the Mysteries of our Lives, the Ancient of Days,” he thanked Him for salvation and
and I saw my cooking pots that I had made with my own hands, and I said, ‘I will give Him three or four of them.’ Then I remembered that they were of no value at all. You could buy one for two beads. Moreover, these hands made those pots; they are of no value. Then I saw on my floor three or four grass mats that I had made myself. But I said, ‘These are of no value at all. Kapite made t h e m.” Then, master, my eyes caught sight of this plate. I bought it two or three years ago, and the man who sold it to me Said that it took all the wis dom of the white man to
praised Him for the gift of His Son. Then he launched .into another line of thought. Evidently his sorrows began to surge in his mind, and he began to tell God all about them. Then he began to ques tion and to say, “ Why, why, why ?” He seemed to be baf fled for a moment. There was a long pause. Finally, his whole heart burst out in this expression, “ O Lord God, my loving Father, just go right on beating me, because I know You love me all the time!” This was the fruit of the movement of the Spirit of God in that dear fellow’s heart. Another case, that may be
C arriers in the S udan
o f interest, goes to prove that the gospel is still the power of God unto salvation, and that Christ’s touch has still its ancient power. It is the story of Kapite, who was sold three times into slavery. By and by, she came under the sound of the gospel. After listening for three or four times to the marvelous story of God’s love, she declared: “ That isn’t love. That is something transcending. We have love in our land. A mother loves her children. But you speak of God’s loving us when we were in rebellion. We have noth ing in our vocabulary to express that.”
make that plate. It is the most precious thing that I have in my house. I said to myself, ‘I am going to give it to the white man and asked him to accept it for Jesus’ sake.’ ” When Kapite ceased, I bowed my head and worshiped in the presence of such marvelous devotion. Looking at it from a worldly point of view, the gift was worthless. That was Judas’ point of view. But Kapite, like one of old, out of a heart running over with joy and gladness, expressed her love for her Lord and Master by giving tbe best that she had.
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs