THE STORY OF TOMMY
By Father David
We should never underestimate
the power of the written word!
Where would
we be today without it, without the first five Books of
Moses, without the chronicles of history in God's Word,
without the Psalms of David, the recorded prophecies of
both the Old Testament and the New Testament, without the
record of the Gospels and the Book of Acts?
What would we
have done without the Epistles of the apostles which are
all preserved for us in the New Testament by the
thoughtfulness of these men, their scribes, secretaries,
helpers, students and followers, to be handed on down to
us even to this day, continuing a perpetual ministry to
the millions of God's children throughout the ages!
I dare say that none of these ever realised how important
these writings were to become in the years and
generations of those to follow!
The apostle
Paul could not possibly have comprehended the total
extent of the ministry of even one of his Epistles at the
time he was actually writing it! He was simply writing
letters of inspiration, comfort, encouragement, doctrine,
admonition, exhortation and direction to personal friends
and groups of believers with whom he was acquainted, or
had ministered to in the past, including those he himself
had won to the Lord, the churches he had personally
organised, as well as their converts and other churches
which had sprung up as a result of their ministry--the
atomic chain-reaction explosion of the Gospel!
So never underestimate the ministry of the written word!
These
Epistles of the apostles have been duplicated by the
billions for nearly 2,000 years, by means of the printed
word. What would we have done without the Bible, God's
love letter to us?
And how
wonderful it is that we have gotten to know the Author
through His Words to us, For faith cometh by hearing and
reading the Word of God" (Romans 10:17).--And faith
can even come from hearing your word, your testimony,
your witness, your letter, containing the Words of God to
a friend, relative, or interested party!
I'm reminded of a true story I heard when I was young,
about a boy named Tommy. Tommy was a little crippled
newsboy, whose mangled body lay almost helpless on a
pitiful pallet by the third story window of an old
rickety tenement on a busy street of a large city. One
day he asked a newsboy friend of his to bring him the
book about the Man Who went about everywhere doing good!
The little lad searched and searched for this unnamed
book for his crippled friend, until one book dealer
finally recognised that he must be talking about the
Bible, and the story of Jesus!
The tiny lad scraped together what few pennies he had,
and the kindly bookseller gave him a copy of the New
Testament, which he rushed back to Tom on his third-floor
pallet!
They began to read it together, until Tommy was
marvellously saved through the Words that he read in the
book, and he too wanted to do good, like the Man in the
book--but he was crippled, and could not even leave the
little one-room apartment of his old aunt with whom he
lived! But he prayed and asked God to help him, and the
Lord showed him a plan!
He began to laboriously scribble helpful verses from the
Bible on tiny scraps of paper, which he would then drop
from his third-floor window to flutter to the busy street
below! Passers-by would see them fluttering down, and
curiously pick them up to see what they were, only to
read the words of a Man Who went around everywhere doing
good!--Christ Jesus! Many were helped, encouraged,
comforted, and even saved through the simple ministry of
this little lad and his Bible.
One day a wealthy businessman was wonderfully saved
through reading one of these little verses.
After finding
Jesus, he returned to the spot where he had found the
tiny scrap of paper that had led him to the Lord, seeking
some key as to how it got there! Suddenly he noticed
another little bit of paper fluttering down to the
sidewalk from above. He watched as a poor, tired old
woman stooped painfully to pick it up, and noticed her
countenance brighten as she read it--and there seemed to
be new strength in her step as she journeyed on!
The businessman, now transfixed to the spot, kept his
eyes glued upward, determined to find the source! He had
to wait a long time, for it took poor little, crippled
Tommy many painful minutes to scrawl even one verse on
one of those bits of paper!
Suddenly the
businessman's eyes were drawn to a certain window, as he
saw a thin, little scrawny hand reaching outward to drop
a tiny piece of paper, like the one that had brought a
whole new life to him! He carefully noted the location of
the window, dashed up the stairs of the dirty tenement,
and finally found the little one-room hovel of tiny Tom,
the sidewalk missionary!
He and Tom immediately became fast friends, and he
brought Tom all the help and medical attention that he
could. Finally one day he asked Tom if he would like to
come and live with him in his palatial mansion outside
the city.
Much to his new friend's surprise, Tom answered, I'll
have to ask my Friend about it."--Meaning Jesus!
The next day the businessman returned, eagerly awaiting
Tom's reply. Oddly enough, Tom asked him some strange
questions: Where did you say your home is?"
Oh," said the businessman, it's far out in the
country, on a large and beautiful estate. You'll have a
beautiful room all your own, and servants to care for
you, delicious meals, a good bed, every comfort and
attention, and anything your heart desires.--And my wife
and I will love you dearly, and rear you as our own
son."
Hesitantly, Tom queried again, Are there any folks that
would pass under my window?" Surprised, and somewhat
baffled, again the businessman replied, saying, Why, uh,
no, only an occasional servant, and perhaps the gardener!
You don't understand, Tommy, this is a gorgeous estate,
way out in the country, far from the busy noise of the
city and the tumult of the people! You'll have quiet
there, and be able to rest, and read, and do all you
want--away from all this filth and smoke and noise and
busy throngs."
After a long and thoughtful silence, Tom's face looked
very sad, for he hated to hurt his new-found friend, but
finally he said quietly, but firmly, with tears in his
eyes, I'm sorry, but you see, I could never live anywhere
where people don't pass under my window."
Ibelieve this simple little true-life story was a turning
point in my own life as a little lad, for when I heard it
told to me by my mother, I determined then and there, by
the grace of God, that I would never live anywhere that
people could not pass under the window of the ministry of
God's Love in my life!
As Tommy
said, I could never live anywhere that people don't pass
under my window!" Could you?
Having once met the Man Who went about everywhere doing
good to those who passed under the window of His life,
how could I ever live selfishly again, where people could
not pass under my window and receive the same? Freely ye
have received, also freely give" (Matthew 10:8). And
unto whom much hath been given, of the same shall much be
required" (Luke 12:48).
Are you living where people can pass under your window?
Are you ministering to those who do? There are people
passing under our window all the time! Are they going to
receive what they need?
Here's the true-life story of someone so simple, so
helpless and so isolated, you might have thought he could
never have had any ministry at all, and would seemingly
have had every excuse for not ministering to others but
rather needed to be ministered unto. But love found a
way!
Someone is passing under your window right now! Has your
love found a way to help them? Has God's Love showed you
how you can help them? He will, if you want to, no matter
what your conditions, or your limitations.
--For God has
a window too, and He has promised that, if we obey Him,
and open the window of our lives upon others, He will
open the windows of Heaven, and pour out such a blessing,
there will not be room enough to hold it" (Malachi
3:10). Praise the Lord!
Are you being faithful in all the windows of your life?
Are you feeding His sheep, giving them green pastures,
still waters, and the sunshine of His Love through the
windows of His Word?
You dare not
fail them! You must give them what they need! How are you
to do it? What can you do more than you are now doing?
You can pour out more! You can give more! You cannot
stop! For the Lord's children, there's no such thing as
standing still! You're either going ahead or falling
behind! You must keep going! You must pour out even more,
as you work the works of Him that hath sent you, while it
is yet day, 'ere the night comes, when no man can work
(John 9:4).
Redeem the
time, for the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:16). Pour
more, witness more, and God Himself will do more, more
than you ever dreamed!
If you selfishly withhold, it will come to naught. There
is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that
withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.
The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth
shall be watered also himself" (Proverbs 11:24,25).
You can't outgive God!
David Livingstone, the famous British missionary who left
his wealth behind in order to pioneer the jungles of
Africa, and died there on his knees, once said, I never
made a sacrifice!" He had discovered that he could
never outgive God. Although he gave his life, he'll reap
Eternal Life and dividends of immortal souls, thousands
saved forever! How can we outgive God?
But it's going to cost something! As King David said, I
will not give unto the Lord of that which hath cost me
nothing!" (2Samuel 24:24). You have to give
something, you have to pour out, you have to live by a
window, and you have to be faithful! You have to put
something into it to get something out of it! You have to
give to get, pour to receive, sow to reap, invest to
profit, die to live, bury to resurrect!
If you have not yet found and received the Man Who went
about doing good," Jesus, and would like to know
God's Love through His Son Jesus Christ, you can
personally receive Him right now! You can not only have
His Love and Salvation for yourself, but you can be
filled to overflowing with His Spirit of Love so you can
be a blessing to others who need His Love. Jesus said, He
that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of
his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John
7:38).
You can ask Jesus into your heart and begin your a life
of love and happiness by simply praying the following
prayer:
Dear Jesus, please forgive me for my sins and give me
Your free gift of Eternal Life, and fill me with Your
Holy Spirit so I too, like Tommy, can find ways to help
those that pass under the window of my life. In Jesus'
name. Amen.
If you have sincerely prayed and believed the above
prayer, you indeed have what you just asked for; for
Jesus promised, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come
in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me"
(Revelation 3:20)
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