The story is told of a young man by the name of Bob who felt a strong calling to be a missionary. And he felt called to go to the cannibals. After completing Bible school, he learned of a colony of cannibals living on a distant island. He had difficulty in finding a ship that would take him there because of the danger, but finally, he found a ship captain who agreed to take him near the island and then let him off on a life raft so Bob could paddle by himself to the island.
Finally, the day came when Bob gathered his few belongings, went up the gangplank, and sailed out to sea. After several days of travel, the ship came in sight of the island and Bob got into the lifeboat and began to paddle towards the island. Bob was committed to Isaiah l2:2 which states, “I will trust and not be afraid.” As he neared shore he noticed that the natives seemed to be more excited and were running back and forth. Bob’s heart was beating pretty hard as he stepped onto the shore.
Immediately the natives came and grabbed Bob took him into the woods and tied him to a tree. He noticed them getting a big iron kettle and filling it with water. Some of them came and pinched him to see if he was fat enough to eat. A fire was kindled under the kettle and smoke rose through the trees.
Ten years later that same sea captain was coming through the same area and suddenly he thought about the time he left Bob off his ship. He decided to sail closer to the island and noticed that things on the island looked different. The buildings looked more modern. And the natives were better clothed. So, he sailed closer, and sure enough, Bob was waving for him to come in. The captain hesitated but Bob said they don’t eat people anymore.
After visiting a while the captain said, the last thing I saw after dropping you off was a little streak of smoke that went up through the trees and I thought that was the last of Bob. And Bob said it was exciting for a while. After heating the water kettle, the big chief came toward Bob with a big knife in his hand. Then Bob remembered that he had a pocket knife in his pocket and he was able to wiggle it out and cut a little piece out of his leg and give it to the chief to taste. He wrinkled up his nose because he had never tasted someone so tough. And so they decided to cut Bob loose and he started to teach them about Jesus and the rest is history.
But the captain said it wasn’t that hard to cut a piece out of your leg. That’s when Bob related that when he was a small boy who was playing baseball with some friends and a ball was hit towards him in the outfield. Bob ran back and reached up but the ball was too high to catch. And a lump of grass caused Bob to stumble and fall and he heard his leg brake. They rushed him to the hospital but despite their best efforts, they could not save his leg, and he was given a wooden leg. And though Bob was disappointed by all this, he realized that it was God’s way of saving him from the cannibals.
Have you had a disappointing experience recently? Step back and wait. Trust God to show you a bigger purpose unfolding in your life to reveal more of His Grace and Glory.
Jim Myer, Executive Board member
