April, 1937
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
149
Junior King's Business By MARTHA S. HOOKER
OKO’S “ HURRY-UP HYMN” B y A melia O. S tott
A s O ko made his way through the jungle outside a West African vil • lage, he was listening with his wonderfully well-trained ear, and at list he heard sounds of singing far away. Oko was on a quest, hungering to be nearer to those “white-faced Jesus-people” of whom he had heard very strange things from a friend. He really must go to see for himself, and here was Oko feeling rather frightened at his secret adventure. He had not dared to tell his father where he was going, knowing how angry it would make his father. He hurried along, for he was always eager to do things quickly, un like many of his slow-going people. At last he neared the Mission House, and his heart began to thump wildly, for he was fairly frightened at visiting the foreign place so late in the evening. There on the porch he saw many African boys, some older and some younger than himself, seated around a table on which a bright lamp was burn ing. Their singing sounded strange but cheery, and all looked very happy. Oko came in timidly and slipped in at the back of the group, almost fearing to look up.
him secretly looking at h is “F o re ig n Jesu s Book,” and the father was very angry. “See, Oko, if y o u won’t worship our tribal gods as we always have done, you will be heav ily punished. Leave the f or e i gn p eop le and their religion alone, or else you must leave me, for our people will not have it.” Oko was very much worried, and he won dered what he ought to do. Should he obey his father and then wait until he was older to try to learn more about
To a boy in a mission school in Africa, baptism as a Christian shows that he has made a very real break with his old life and that he will have nothing more to do with heathen worship.
the Lord Jesus? Again came the words to him, “Make no delay,” and he felt that God his heavenly Father was showing him plainly what to do. The words decided the question for him, and he left home and went to the Mission where he found a job
Poor Zakaria was always in fear that he might meet a company of these “Maw,” and he kept praying to be kept safe when alone. He firmly believed the members would either wound him badly or carry him away to starve, or that they would beat him to death. Then one day Zakaria heard that his father’s only brother had died. Zakaria felt that, as custom in Africa demands, he ought to visit his old home to show sympathy with his relatives, for his father had no other son. His friends tried to tell him not to go, but after much earnest prayer he said, “I am sure God has shown me again to ‘Make no delay.’ ” It did indeed take much courage to go, for he did not know what danger he might meet. When he entered his home village, he had grown so tall and sturdy during the three years he had been away that the. people hardly knew him. His knowledge of books impressed them all, and he was so fearless in telling them about this new story of Jesus that they listened in amaze ment. They declared that the white “Jesus- people” had made a “coming man of him.” From that day some of Zakaria’s rela tives became willing to attend school and church. They later came to love the Lord Jesus and were baptized, to Zakaria’s great joy. He sang and taught his special “hurry-up hymn” to every one he-met, and especially to his father who he found had been weak and ill for a long time. The sight of his beloved son restored the old father for a time, but he did not live much longer. “My father,” said Zakaria, “make no delay in coming to love and serve the Jesus-Lord. You may not have time to receive His wonderful gift of pardon if you will not do so now.”
In a moment the White Teacher rose and asked a big boy to read out the words they were singing. Then it was that Oko heard the message which was to ch a n g e h is w hole life: “Biahute Jesu anon o die,’’ m ean ing , “Come to the Saviour; make no delay.” The music was lively, and though Oko had no idea of the meaning until the mis sionary e x p la in e d la te r, those words seem printed on his mind. He kept think ing about them, and he called it to himself “the hurry-up song of Jesus.” The missionary read to the boys from the Bible: “Behold, now is the accept ed time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). That night God’s Spirit spoke to Oko and caused him to understand
herding goats. The pay was about twenty-five cents a week, which was just enough to care for his needs, and he was able to attend the night school. One Sunday morning Oko went with other Christians to the river to watch one of the older boys be bap tized. Oko wanted to show in this public way that he, too, believed in the Lord Jesus, and he asked to be baptized and given the name Zakaria, reminding him of Zaccheus, the man who came down out of the tree and made haste to welcome Jesus. Of course Zakaria now dared not go anywhere near his home v illa g e , fo r th e peop le might have killed him. As in many other places in Africa, the youths in the neighborhood of his old
An African leader of heathen worship, with the equipment used in his religion.
the message of God’s Word, that the Lord Jesus had died for him. And Oko, remem bering the song, made “no delay” in com ing to the Saviour that very night. From that time, Oko resolved to attend that night school at the Mission House, but he was afraid to tell his father, though it was the first secret he had ever kept from him since his mother’s death when he was a baby. One day, however, his father found
home belonged to a secret society, “The Maw,” and used to parade the district in most terrifying costumes and head masks. They pretended to be evil spirits, and they liked to frighten the women and girls and the younger boys. Only members were allowed to know the secrets about these youths, and anybody who refused to join them (especially a Christian) was singled out for terrible ill treatment.
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