I have a verse for you

A dear friend and co-worker gave me this book and I just thought this particular story was so good.

"I have a verse for you"

The law of the Lord is perfect, coverting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise the simple. Ps 19:7

We were sitting on the dirt floor of a grass-roofed hut visiting with a 70-year old chief. In the midst of our laughing and joking he said, "I have verse from the Koran for you."

He read the words carefully in Arabic. Then, with great pride, he told how he had studied the Koran for most of his life and could now read it. Commending him on his reading, I asked, "What does the verse mean?" He replied, "I only read it; I cannot translate it."

I was shocked. How could he give me a verse that he did not understand and that I could not possibly understand? What could be the benefit of reading something without understanding it? I read Scripture to understand God and His Will for my life. How could someone work that hard to learn Arabic without understanding it?

After this encounter, God led me to handwrite Genesis 3 in Pular, but using the Arabic alphabet. I gave it to the chief. He insisted that we read it then. As we read, I had to stop him frequently to talk about the meaning and to be sure he was not just pronouncing the words.

Later, I went back with the express intent to give him the rest of Genesis. I did not have to offer, he said, "What you left was not enough; it was only part of the story." I was glad to give him more of God's Word.

Am I as hungry for the Word as this man? -Robert & Rhonda, West Africa

Moore, B. Voices of the Faithful. (2005). Yates and Yates, Orange, CA:42.