Trabajo Market, Sampaloc, Manila

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My daughter and I found ourselves with a span of some three-quarters of an hour to fill before it was time to fetch her sister from the schoolhouse. And what better way to redeem this fleeting time than to employ our hands in the Lord's service, distributing the newly printed tracts we had on hand?

The school’s dormitory was situated in the very middle of a bustling market area, where a constant stream of souls hurried by. Having parked but one street away, I took my stand at a quiet spot upon the side and began the work of handing them out.

I confess that, for the first portion of this whole episode, the multitude did mostly ignore me. And so I was compelled to call out to them, declaring that the gift was free of all charge, costing them no expense, and was simply being given away.

For you see, there was a lamentable time in this very locality when some well-meaning street preachers did stand upon the pavements to deliver the Gospel, but they carried with them envelopes, openly asking for money alongside their message. I believe this grievous error did only harden the hearts of the people, causing them to view the sacred truth as nothing more than a money-making scheme. I knew I laboured with this terrible prejudice set against me, but I also knew, with an unshakeable certainty, that the Lord was with me in that place!

After some measure of patience and divine mercy, every single tract had gone forth from my hands.

I say mercy because all the while I was distributing the printed word, I was simultaneously pleading with those passing souls to turn to the Lord, as if He Himself were making a request to them through my unworthy lips. I was praying in that very moment that I would be granted a greater measure of love and compassion for them, without which, all my earnest efforts would have been merely a cold duty, and therefore entirely futile. For it requires true love to deliver a message that is fundamentally offensive to the natural man, and it requires deep, spiritual compassion to continue standing at a post where no one desires your presence.

May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of his suffering.

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