This is a good story that shows what great sacrifice the Lord Jesus Christ
made so that all who trust in His finished work can have the undeserving 
privilege of being with the Lord forever in heaven. 

I hope this story ministers to your heart to accept this Eternal Gift of
Salvation that God freely offers to all who call upon His name if you have
never done so before.


THE MATCHLESS PEARL

David Morse an American missionary to India became great friends there with
the pearl-diver, Rambhau. Many an evening he spent in Rambhau's cabin 
reading to him from the Bible, and explaining to him God's way of salvation.

Rambhau enjoyed listening to the Word of God, but whenever the missionary
tried to get Rambhau to accept Christ as his Saviour he would shake his 
head and reply, "Your Christian way to heaven is too easy for me! I cannot
accept it. If ever I should find admittance to heaven in that manner I 
would feel like a pauper there...like a beggar who has been let in out of
pity. I may be proud, but I want to deserve it; I want to earn my place in
heaven and so I am going to work for it."

Nothing the missionary could say seemed to have any effect on Rambhau's 
decision, and so quite a few years slipped by. One evening, however, the 
missionary heard a knock on his door, and on going to open it he found 
Rambhau there.

"Come in, dear friend," said Morse.

"No," said the pearl-diver. "I want you to come with me to my house, Sahib,
for a short time, I have something to show you. Please do not say 'No'".

"Of course I'll come," replied the missionary. As they neared his house, 
Rambhau said: "In a week's time I start working for my place in heaven; I
am leaving for Delhi and I am going there on my knees." "Man, you're 
crazy! It's nine hundred miles to Delhi, and the skin will break on your 
knees, and you will have blood-poisoning or leprosy before you get to Bombay."

"No, I must get to Delhi," affirmed Rambhau, "and the immortals will reward
me for it! The suffering will be sweet for it will purchase heaven for me!"

"Rambhau, my friend you can't. How can I bear you to do it when Jesus
Christ has suffered and died to purchase heaven for you!"

But the old man could not be moved. "You are my dearest friend on earth, 
Sahib Morse. Through all these years you have stood by me in sickness, in
want, you have been sometimes my only friend. But even you cannot turn me 
from my desire to purchase eternal bliss...I must go to Delhi!" Inside the
hut Morse was seated in the very chair Rambhau had specially built for him 
-- where on so many occasions he had read to him the Bible.

Rambhau left the room to return soon with a small but heavy English 
strongbox. "I have had this box for years," said he, "and I keep only one
thing in it. Now I will tell you about it, Sahib Morse. I once had a son..."

"A son! Why, Rambhau, you have never before said a word about him!"

"No, Sahib, I couldn't." Even as he spoke the diver's eyes were moistened.

"Now I must tell you, for soon I will leave, and who knows whether I shall
ever return? My son was a diver too. He was the best pearl diver on the 
coasts of India. He had the swiftest dive, the keenest eye, the strongest
arm, the longest breath of any man who ever sought for pearls. What joy he
brought to me! Most pearls, as you know, have some defect or blemish only
the expert can discern, but my boy always dreamed of finding the 'perfect'
pearl one beyond all that was ever found. One day he found it! But even 
when he saw it he had been under water too long...That pearl cost him his
life, for he died soon after"

The old pearl diver bowed his head. For a moment his whole body shook, but
there was no sound. "All these years," he continued, "I have kept this 
pearl but now I am going, not to return, and to you, my best friend I am 
giving my pearl."

The old man worked the combination on the strongbox and drew from it a 
carefully wrapped package. Gently opening the cotton, he picked up a 
mammoth pearl and placed it in the hand of the missionary. It was one of 
the largest pearls ever found off the coast of India, and glowed with a 
lustre and brilliance never seen in cultured pearls. It would have brought
a fabulous sum in any market.

For a moment the missionary was speechless and gazed with awe. "Rambhau! 
What a pearl!"

"That pearl, Sahib, is perfect," replied the Indian quietly. The missionary
looked up quickly with a new thought: Was not this the very opportunity and
occasion he had prayed for to make Rambhau understand the value of Christ's
sacrifice? So he said, designedly, "Rambhau, this is a wonderful pearl, an
amazing pearl. Let me buy it. I would give you ten thousand dollars for it."

"Sahib! What do you mean?"

"Well, I will give you fifteen thousand dollars for it, or if it takes 
more I will work for it."

"Sahib," said Rambhau, stiffening his whole body, "this pearl is beyond 
price. No man in all the world has money enough to pay what this pearl is
worth to me. On the market a million dollars could not buy it. I will not
sell it to you. You may only have it as a gift."

"No, Rambhau, I cannot accept that. As much as I want the pearl, I cannot
accept it that way. Perhaps I am proud, but that is too easy. I must pay 
for it, or work for it..."

The old pearl-diver was stunned. "You don't understand at all, Sahib. Don't
you see? My only son gave his life to get this pearl, and I wouldn't sell
it for any money. Its worth is in the life-blood of my son. I cannot sell
this but I can give it to you. Just accept it in token of the love I bear you."

The missionary was choked, and for a moment could not speak. Then he 
gripped the hand of the old man. "Rambhau," he said in a low voice, "don't
you see? My words are just what you have been saying to God all the time."

The diver looked long and searchingly at the missionary, and slowly, slowly
he began to understand. "God is offering to you salvation as a free gift,"
said the missionary. "It is so great and priceless that no man on earth 
can buy it. Millions of dollars are too little. No man on earth could earn
it. His life would be millions of years too short. No man is good enough to
deserve it. It cost God the life-blood of His only Son to make the entrance
for you into heaven. In a million years, in a hundred pilgrimages, you
could not earn that entrance. All you can do is to accept it as a token of
God's love for you a sinner."

"Rambhau, of course I will accept the pearl in deep humility, praying God
I may be worthy of your love. Rambhau, won't you accept God's great gift 
of heaven, too, in deep humility, knowing it cost Him the death of His Son
to offer it to you?"

Great tears were now rolling down the cheeks of the old man. The veil was
beginning to lift. "Sahib, I see it now. I have believed in the doctrine of
Jesus for the last two years, but I could not believe that His salvation
was free. Now I understand. Some things are too priceless to be bought or
earned. Sahib, I will accept His salvation!"

Author Unknown


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Romans 10:9-10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, 
thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Acts 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

All scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.


Today's Selected Poem: COMFORT FOR ALL
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem58.htm

Today's Selected Testimony: GOD SAVED MY FAMILY
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony178.htm


In Christ's Service, 

Dwayne Savaya 
Gods Work Ministry