267
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
May 1926
The Name! A thrilling incident from the experience o f a missionary in India, as related in The Woman s Missionary Friend.
"Wherefore God a l s o hath highly exalted him, and given Him a name which is above every name;' "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." —Philippians 2 :9,10.
through it, and the eyes, which but now had held something of the bovine patience of his oxen, blazed into mine as if kindled into flame by some sud den spark within. “ You ask me to make a promise like that. Me! Me!” He choked and sputtered in his emotion, while I fell back a space amazed at the outburst which my well-meant words had pro duced. Seeing the surprise in my fac6, he collected himself with an effort, and resumed in his usual courteous tone. “ Do ,you see my son there?” pointing to the elder of the two boys who ac companied us. We had reached the car by this time, and scenting an unusual story from his manner, I placed my books and umbrella inside and leaned against the door, resolved to get at the bottom of the matter befdre we started. “ Well?” I questioned. His form relaxed into its former bent pos ture, while he began slowly and mus ingly as if weighing every word. “ It is five years since my boy here was struck down with a dumb sick ness. He had been in the fields all day as usual, and had just finished water ing and feeding the buffaloes when all at onpe he put his hands to his head and crumpled up, like a dead man. We thought at first his spirit had left him, but we got him on the bed, and after a long time his eyes opened. His mother was beside herself when she saw this, and throwing herself down on the bed beside him she embraced him over and over, begging him, with tears, to sppak to her. But no word came. “ A crowd of neighbors gathered, at tracted by her cries, and began to offer all kinds of advice and suggestions. Finally, however, they fell back, and I could hear them whispering to each other, casting glances of fear towards the bed. At last their whisperings turned to murmured hints and dark shakings of the head. •'The boy, they said, had been seized by a dumb devil who would have to be exorcised and placated. The only thing to do was to call the bhagat (priest) who would tell us the name of the devil and what wits to be done to in duce it to leave. “ I heard no more. In wrath I drove them from my door telling them that
HE meeting was over; good byes had been said to the women and, accompanied by a stalwart brother and his
two grown sons, we were on our way to the outskirts of the village where the patient car had been left standing in the shade of a banyan tree. “ Now about this mela. The preacher tells me you are going,” I remarked. A mela is a religious fair holding al^ the attractions of a camp-meeting, a circus and a country auction, com bined. For the religiously inclined, there are the sacred tanks where one may bathe and, if he is anxious for still more merit, feed the hordes of black fish that are lying greedily in wait under the ledges and arches of the tank. The gods are to be found lined up patiently in the veranda by the side of the pool where, after the ablutions have been properly per formed, one may approach any or all of them to pay his respects and offer petitions, as long as his gifts hold out. Attendance at a mela could be an innocent enough diversion, where the Christians would meet relatives from miles around, enjoy a pleasant picnic under.the shade, and return home at night loaded with trinkets and sweets for wife and children. On the other hand there was the pull of old cus toms, the sacred pool of water, and the garlanded gods in their gaudy finery. Many of the Christians are but babes in Christ. It was with a heart full of misgivings therefore, that I turned to Budha, the Christian brother, with my statement which at the same time held a question in it. "Oh, of course I am going! Every one is,” came the ready answer. • "I would have gone long since, but the preacher brought me newjs of the good ness of your coming, so 11 tarried for you. But there is yet plenty of time. It is only four miles from here, and it is not yet noon,” I turned and looked deep into his eyes and I know that my own were troubled. “ All right! Only promise me one thing; that you will not go near the sacred tank, or bow down before the idols. Promise,” I said firmly. The stalwart form had become crooked from much bending over the plow, but at my words it straightened as if a galvanic shock had passed
I was a Christian. Christ gave me the boy. Christ can take him away if it pleases Him, but no bhagat shall con taminate my home by stepping across the threshold.” The man paused, over come by the poignancy of the recol lection. “ That was the beginning. All night long I sat by his bedside. Sometimes he slept, and sometimes the great speaking eyes would remain gazing at ' me*, but he neither moved nor spoke. So the night passed, and the day, and so other nights and other days dragged their weary length along while still he lay, a living soul in a dead body. “ The news spread quickly, and rela tives from far distant villages came, to shake their heads slowly and talk with dark whispers in corners. Always on leaving they spoke out their thoughts. The boy was under the in fluence of an evil spirit. There was only one thing to be done. Call the bhagat to And out whose spirit it was, then build an altar and placate it with offerings of fowl, and even goats if need be. What was a goat when the life of an elder son hung in Ithe bal ance? “ They even won over my wife with their show of wisdom, and I had to bear the burden of her tears and re proaches. If I would not call the bhagat I should allow her to build the altar. If she made a neat one of stone, and whitewashed it over nicely, per haps the spirit could be induced to leave her boy and dwell in it, especi ally if she sprinkled the blood of a kid upon it as an extra inducement. Now she wept and pleaded and now she up braided, but always her plaint was the same. "To her as to all I had but one answer: ‘Christ is powerful. He is my God. I will put my trust in Him alone.’ “ The days passed into weeks, and the weeks rolled by until it was near ing the end of the month, and still my
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs