They came to know Jesus Christ (1) - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16.

They came to know Jesus Christ (1)
In 1942 the British officer, Ernest Gordon (1916-2002), was taken prisoner in Japan. With many other prisoners-of-war he was engaged on the construction of a railway line between Thailand and Burma by the River Kwai. The inhuman living conditions led to despair and even to distrust and envy among themselves. Additionally there was the rejection by the natives, whose villages they passed through on the way to work.

There was, however, one very positive encounter. Gordon reported: "We entered a village, in which the inhabitants met us in a totally unexpected manner. We noticed sympathy in the eyes of those standing by the roadside as we passed. And before we reached the end of the village, the people came out and gave us cakes, bananas, eggs, medicines and money.

Later we learned that these villagers were Christians and that the Japanese had punished them severely for their readiness to help. A key figure in that jungle area was an elderly female missionary. She had succeeded in continuing her work during the Japanese occupation. She used to go from one group to another in the jungle with the Japanese constantly hard on her heels."

This brief contact with the world outside reminded Gordon and his colleagues that there was a better way of life than they had experienced in the camps. Without a word being spoken, the prisoners-of-war had seen something of Christ in the life of His followers.

(to be concluded tomorrow)

Today's reading: Isaiah 3:16-4:6 · Acts 21:26-40