Chinese Diamonds for the King of Kings — Sketch III--The Man Who Proved God

"_Him that honoreth Me I will honor.

_" The last of a long stream of patients had just gone.

It was five o'clock and the tired doctor turned his face once more towards the rear of the Mission Compound, where lay his beloved garden, his one source of relaxation after a day spent in fighting disease and death.

To-day as he reached the inner gate, something, shall we not more truly say, _Someone_, seemed to make him turn about, and he retraced his steps, he knew not why; back past the dispensary door he went till he had reached the main gateway.

* * * Two men carrying a stretcher upon which lay a sick man, came staggering along the road leading past the Mission premises.

They were evidently not in the best of humor, for as they mopped their streaming brows, frequent oaths escaped them.

Suddenly, as the Mission gate was reached, they dropped their burden with a cruel thud upon the ground, for both bearers had caught sight of the foreigner coming up to the gate.

This was by far too interesting a sight to miss, so both men squatted down opposite the gate to rest while they watched with keenest interest this foreign man of whom they had heard many wonderful stories, but whom they had never seen.

The doctor, with true instinct, walked straight to the sick man and raised the cloth covering his face.

Hardened as he was to all kinds of "cases," what he saw evidently shocked him, for he gave an exclamation of surprise.

"Where are you taking him?"

he asked the bearers.

"Home," was the reply.

"But do you know he will certainly die?"

"That's certain," was the answer.

"We were just considering as we came up whether we would not _just bury him as he is_, for neither of us cares to stand for forty _li_ more (14 miles) what we have stood those last forty _li_."

The doctor knew well it meant for him many months of hard fighting with a most loathsome disease, with only a bare chance of success, yet in the spirit of his Master he did not hesitate but said, "Give him to me.

If he can be saved, I'll save him.

If he dies, he will have proper burial."

After consulting together for a few moments the men turned to the doctor and said, "You can have him."

So the man was carried into the hospital.

The following day, at the missionaries' noon prayer-meeting much interest was roused as the doctor told of his strange leading the day before and of the result.

Earnest prayer rose for Lu Yung Kwan, the sick man, whose past history made his case seem the more hopeless.

He had been a professional juggler (about as low in the scale as one could well get), and had lived a very depraved life.

The history of the year that followed could better be told by the doctor or his colleague who worked, rather fought for the man's salvation, both soul and body.

But the day came when he went from the Mission Hospital healed in body and a professed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Twice in the months that followed Lu Yung Kwan fell; the second time he went back to his old life so deep and so long his Mission friends almost despaired of him.

But God had mercy on him, and he rose as the future proved, "_a new creation_" in Christ Jesus.

Barely has there been a more striking illustration of Paul's words, "Put off the old man with his deeds," than Lu Yung Kwan's after life.

He opened a small bakery and food shop where many passed to and fro with their barrows of coal, the coal pits being in the region.

He was the only Christian in the region.

On his counter was always a place for Christian books and tracts; and he was ever on the alert to take advantage of the curiosity and interest these awakened, and to bear witness to what the Lord had done for him.

From the first opening of his business he determined to obey the injunction of Malachi 3:10,--"Bring ye the whole tithe ...

and prove me now ...

saith Jehovah of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

He not only gave a tithe of all he made to the Lord, but put aside for Him one cash in every hundred, "Just to bless the rest."

He married a bright Christian girl, who proved herself a true helpmeet to him.

Four children came to bless their home; one girl whom they named Glory, and three boys, Paul, Luke and Joseph.

One day when visiting near their home, the writer asked the second boy, whom she met on the street, his name.

He answered, "My name is the Gospel according to Luke!"

It is not too much to say that the Lord prospered this man in all that he did.

As an example of this:--One year almost famine conditions prevailed through Lu Yung Kwan's region, when the missionary paid a visit to the little band of Christians which had gathered around this faithful witnesser to the Truth.

One day Mr. Lu and the Missionary went for a walk.

Noticing a fine field of wheat in striking contrast to the almost dead fields of grain surrounding it, the missionary asked to whom it belonged.

Mr. Lu replied that it was his, and quietly remarked, "That is how the Lord blesses me."

Some time later when the writer was visiting near his home, Mr. Lu called upon her when he told her the story of his life.

One thing he said was, "I know now why the Lord allowed me to fall twice.

I was too self-confident.

I had to learn that Christ must be all and I nothing."

Only a few months later the call came to meet his Master.

He glorified the Lord in his death as in his life; he died in full assurance of Eternal Life.

He left behind his widow and children comfortably provided for, and a band of Christians to testify to God's faithfulness in opening as He had promised "windows of blessing" for the man who dared to "prove" Him.

* * * Before closing this sketch I would like to record an incident which occurred some years after her husband's death in which Mrs. Lu proved to be a veritable God-send to the writer.

To be understood the story must be told somewhat in detail.

Returning to our station from an unusually strenuous autumn's touring, I planned as usual to give the month of December to the children's sewing, so as to leave January free for a Woman's Bible Training Class, but my health broke down and strive as I could scarcely any headway was made with thirty-five or forty garments which had to be made by the time the children returned to their school in Chefoo.

By the 18th of December the January class had to be cancelled and word was sent to all the women who were to attend with one exception--Mrs. Lu, and she was _overlooked_!

As the days passed the burden of the almost untouched sewing became very great till I was forced to cry to the Lord for a way out of the difficulty.

On December 28th, while leading the Chinese Woman's Prayer meeting, I noticed Mrs. Lu in the audience and at once knew she had come from her distant home over rough mountain roads with her little child for the class which was cancelled.

Feeling very sorry for the thoughtlessness which had given her the needless trouble and expense I invited her to my home and gave her some money for a barrow to take herself and child home the following day.

I then sat down to the sewing machine while Mrs. Lu stood beside and watched.

In a few moments she said, "You look very tired.

Let me run the machine for you."

I looked at her in amazement, and said, "You run the machine?

Why you don't know how."

"Yes I do," she replied.

"I joined a band of women in our village and had a machine brought and we all learned to run it.

Just try me."

As I gave her first easy and then more and more difficult things to do and saw how she did them perfectly, I felt awed at the plainness of God's leading, for there was only one other Chinese woman, as far as I knew, in our whole Changte field who could run the sewing machine.

But again came a test of faith, for when I asked her to stay and help me with the sewing she replied that she must return home on the morrow.

Puzzled and disappointed I could only again ask the Lord to undertake, and again I proved His faithfulness.

That night a fierce storm, lasting several days, came on, making the roads quite impassable.

Mrs. Lu, finding herself storm-tied, gladly gave all her time to me.

The roads remained impassable for a whole month, during which time all the sewing was finished and I had not needed to sit down to the machine once!

"They shall abundantly utter the memory of Thy great Goodness."

*SKETCH IV*

*Opening a New Station* Part 1--THE MISSIONARY'S HOME.

Part 2--AS RAIN FROM A CLEAR SKY.

Part 3--SOWING BEFORE THE STORM.

*Opening a New Station*