Results or Obedience

Here's a question for everyone--- In your effort to share the Gospel, what is more important? Results or your obedience to the Great Commission?

In a world that gauges success by business principles, most would answer that results are more important than one's obedience to God's call for every Christian to share the Gospel. And so, evangelism success is measured by numbers. How often do we hear in our churches, after a whole afternoon of street evangelism, reports like "Christian X was able to lead 5 people to Christ making our conversion total to 30 for this afternoon." In evangelism crusades, the number of commitment forms gathered from people that went forward to the altar when the invitation was given is the basis for the success of the event. I once heard of a Bible seminary that requires its students to lead a certain number of people to Christ every semester. Someone I know who went to that seminary told me that students, out of desperation to reach that number, would cheat their records so that they will not have to be punished for not reaching the target.

"Professions of faith" have become the more important thing instead of changed lives caused by the Gospel. And so, churches have focused on bringing people in their services even if the means are unbiblical. If numerical results are gained by making the Gospel message less offensive (but in truth, less effective), then that's what is done. There are even churches that have succumbed to the temptation of conforming to the ways of this wicked world out of a deep desire to show numerical results to others. To make matters worst, they would carelessly declare the people whom they've coaxed to attend their services as Christians just because they have attended the church several times already. And what have Bible seminaries done to add to the injury? They've replaced subjects dealing with doctrine with subjects that deal with marketing the church.

Was Jesus concerned about numbers when He was doing His ministry on Earth? I don't think so. If He was then he should have quickly led the rich young ruler to what we call today as "the sinner's prayer" when the later asked, "How can I have eternal life?" instead of showing him how he has failed the first of the Ten Commandments (Matt. 19:16-22). The encounter ended with the rich young ruler leaving Jesus because he could not bear the thought of him selling his possessions to give to the poor. If Jesus was all about getting the attention of people so that He had numbers to show His critics to prove that He had followers, then he should not have told one person he had healed not to tell others of what He did to him (Mark 1:40-45). If Jesus was all about selling Himself as a charismatic leader worthy of people's affection, then He should not have called His audience "vipers" one time when He preached (Matt. 12:34). Clearly, Jesus was more concern about the inner change that could take place in a man's life if he repents.

Results are good if they really are the results we're hoping to have. A big congregation will be something to be happy about only if everyone in the church have been truly converted to Christianity, proof of which are changed lives. Honestly, will we be happy about numbers if most of the people in our churches whom we've cleverly brought to our services someday still end up in Hell? I don't think so.

This is the reason why I believe, obedience is more important than results. How should obedience be reflected? First, in heeding Christ's call for all of us to be engaged in sharing the Gospel. I completely agree with Ray Comfort when he once said that "the success of our evangelism program should not be measured by the professions of faith we generate but instead, by the number of Christians in our churches that join the pastor in sharing the Gospel." Come to think of it. If I want to report to my pastor that I was able to lead someone to Christ, I can pressure anyone to follow me in prayer even if he/she is not sincere about it. Or in a crusade, I can tell everyone to follow me in a simple prayer of "acceptance". I then ask everyone who followed the prayer to raise their hands, I count every hand raised, and there you go, I have numbers. C'mon! The Bible says that it is "by their fruits that we shall know them" and not by their raised hands.

We must also realize that obeying God's command for us to share the Gospel to the unsaved with us putting no pressure on ourselves to deliver results gives God the glory if ever a soul experiences conversion. Preoccupation with us delivering numerical results is another way of saying that it is us that saves and not God.

Second, we must be obedient (and faithful) to Christ's way of sharing the Gospel. Biblical evangelism has always been "Law to the proud, Grace to the humble." If I will just give grace to everyone I witness to even if that person is self-righteous, I will just set that person to the path of destruction unknowing to him. People should be shown how they have offended God with their sins if we really want them to repent of their sins. It is only after they have seen how wicked they are that they can appreciate the grace of God.

It will be great to have both results and obedience seen in our Christian walk. But we should realize that (true) results do not come all the time. Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost and three thousand got saved. Not the case with Noah though. He preached for so many years before the flood and yet, he had only his family to show as results of his preaching. But we can be obedient to God at all times. Obedience always brings delight to God. But the numbers we call "results" do not impress God all the time, simply because, most of the time, they're just that, numbers. So in the debate of results vs. obedience, it's a no contest. Obedience to God must always be the focus.

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Reaching the rich and powerful

Mark 10:25 tells us that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. This verse gives the reality of the difficulty of reaching the rich, and also the powerful and famous, for Christ. If you've come across rich and powerful people and got to know them more closely, you will find out that their power and wealth give them a false security. You may not hear them directly saying this, but you will observe that the worldly things they have make them less interested with spiritual things.

This does not mean though that we should not anymore try reaching these people to Christ. Jesus died for them too. If they die without Jesus' righteousness imputed on them, their wealth and power will not be able to buy them a ticket to Heaven (Prov. 11:4). And so, we should try our best to deliver the Gospel to them.

Prayer, as always, will play a significant role if you do want to reach them. Why? Getting to them will be a big challenge. You can't just expect a very rich and powerful person to give you an appointment just because you ask for one. You have to pray for that opportunity to come. I believe that prayers for opportunities like this is something God enjoys answering. The Bible says that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us (1 John 5:14), and it is very clear that God is not willing that any should perish (including the rich and famous) but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). So if we ask for an opportunity to share the Gospel to basically anyone, that is in line with God's will and we can be sure that He will hear us. In the past 3 years, I have prayed for opportunities to share the Gospel to rich and powerful people from the president of the Philippines to Manny Pacquiao, the boxing pound-for-pound king. All the opportunities I'm asking have not arrived yet, although God has allowed me to give out tracts to a few of them like sports and TV personalities. I'm confident that God will someday give that one chance for people I'm praying for to hear the Gospel. I really don't care if that will be through me or through another Christian as long as they hear the Gospel.

Once given the opportunity, we must be sure that we do not preach a prosperity gospel to this people. Please be reminded that they have everything that they want in life and any more prosperity promises you give them will just make you foolish in their eyes. And "NO", they don't have a God-shaped hole in their heart that only God can fill. What they have is the same as what any person has--- a wicked heart that God hates looking at. And so, it is crucial that our presentation focuses on man's standing in front of a just and holy God. If you can make them understand that despite their wealth and power, they don't look lovable to God's eyes because of their sins, they have all the reason in the world to listen and consider what you are telling them. The Gospel will appear very desirable to them once you've made them understand their true state before God.

Then after that, continue praying for them.

In the past 5 months, God has given me opportunities to deliver the Gospel to the rich and famous. The picture above is an example. Last December, God allowed me to be in the same restaurant wash room as former actor and politician, Rey Malonzo. I'm not a fan of his or his martial arts skills but when I bumped into him, I appeared as starstruck as I can so that I can hand him a Milion Dollar bill tract. I was so happy to see him later in the lounge of the restaurant reading the tract. Just a week ago, I handed a congressman from Bulacan a Giant Money tract which he really liked when we shot a video of him giving his well wishes to graduates of the school I work at. I also wrote a letter each to Bill Gates and Warren Buffet explaining their need for Christ. I have no knowledge if the letters reached them, but I'm praying that God would make a way for them to read my letters.

Maybe you also know some rich and powerful person out there. They also need Christ just like all of us. You can do something to deliver the Gospel to them. All it takes is a little initiative. Yes, the camel has a better chance of passing through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter into Heaven. But we can help them. Let's give them a little push.

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A Time to Wake Up

Year 2010, the start of a new decade. Despite that it’s another new year, life is, for all of us, still uncertain, in terms of what will happen on a daily basis. Looking back at 2009, we can’t help but be amazed with how many times we woke up to something that either surprised us or shocked us. Life can truly be described with one word… UNPREDICTABLE.

This early in 2010, God has again demonstrated how shocking the next day could be. Just days ago, the country of Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Buildings and houses collapsed that trapped and killed tens of thousands of people. Up to this time, thousands are still trapped in fallen buildings and houses, hoping that rescuers would come and save them. Not even the presidential palace of the country was spared, a testament that man’s power cannot counter God’s power. In light of what occurred in Haiti, let’s see what God could be telling each of us.

To the non-believer, God is showing you how He can just end life for you. No matter how strong the fortitude you call your home may be, if He decides that He has given you enough time already to get right with Him and you did not, your precious life can’t be safe from the timetable of God in terms of when you’ll have to leave this world. The event that happened in Haiti shouts at you, “You could be the next one to die!”

In the private school that I help manage, there was one graduating high school student that experienced how life could just end in a blink. 2009 was almost over. Their class was already preparing for their annual Christmas party and looking to March 2010 when all of them will finally graduate from high school. But the party and the graduation never arrived for this student. On his way home driving his classmate’s motorcycle, in a matter of seconds when he felt the need for speed, they crashed against a vehicle that caused him to fly from his ride hitting another vehicle coming from the other lane of the road. He was rushed to a hospital but to no avail as life ended for him after two days. How I wish he listened and made a decision to get right with God the morning he was involved in that accident when I preached for the nth time the Gospel to our students.

To the atheist, God could be introducing Himself to you. For a long time now, you have denied His existence but instead, tried to explain how everything began using science. And what do you have to show for? Still a declaration that somewhere out there is the “missing link” that will prove your point.

This was not the first time God made Himself a reality to you. Remember the complexity of the DNA. That’s God telling you that He’s real. Remember how you were confronted by the fact that the eye has 137 million light sensitive cells each with its own purpose for the eye to function correctly which you and Darwin concede its development is so difficult to explain via the theory of evolution? Well, that’s God showing how intelligently He has designed the eye. Do you want more? Then look at yourself? Do you honestly believe that with all your intelligence and abilities, you just developed randomly from a simple organism and that your nearest ancestor is an ape? Look at yourself at the mirror now. Do you now see God? You should for the Bible tells us that we were created in His own image. And the quake at Haiti? Can’t you see how the science-oriented man with all its bragging of how great he is, up to now, has not found a way to prevent these natural disasters every time God decides to step in to wake us up a little from our failure to recognize His existence? Unless you accept the reality of God now, you will someday have no doubt that He is really there when He in person brings His judgment to you on that scary day.

To the Christian, God could just be simply telling you to “Wake up!” From what? From our failure to do our duties of worship to Him, to live a holy life, and to preoccupy ourselves in telling others of the Gospel. You have lived a double life. You’re God’s child but after some time living like one, you have decided to play with this sinful world. Yes, you still go to church from time to time and still pray, especially when things aren’t going well for you. But have you truly loved the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength all your Christian life? When was the last time you really cared enough to tell another person about his true state in front of a powerful, just and holy God and how His judgment to a sinful man could be evaded? How dare you call yourself a “Christian” when all that is important to you is yourself. See the quake at Haiti. It calls you to once and for all live like a true child of God.

And finally, to the modern Gospel preacher, God is shouting at you, “My judgment is scary!” You have been preaching only half of what God is for a long time now. You only talk of His love and never about how He hates sin and how one day He will pour down his wrath on man’s transgression of His moral standards. And because you only preach half of the truth of God, you really never declared the truth in the first place. People who should have been walking now on the road to glory, because of your erroneous gospel preaching, are making their way to destruction. And what did you get in return for your irresponsible preaching? You have fame, you have wealth and you have man’s adulation. You’ve made your belly full and you’re not about to change things because of these. The cries of the nation of Haiti is God shouting at you for you to straighten up your message or else the blood of the sinful He will charge at you.

Time is so not on our side. The signs of the times prove this. Unless we wake up now, we will someday have the unenviable experience of waking up to God’s judgment. So wake up now!

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Mission Work: Difficult but rewarding

A few weeks back, we came from Oriental Mindoro for Living Waters Asia's yearly mission trip called the Gospel Buzz. Every trip we've had in the past post it's unique kind of challenges. In the past, we had to face a wet climate, a hostile community and the dangers posted by rebel groups. You can be sure about it, even before we embark on a particular trip, we already expect these kinds of challenges. For this year's trip, we knew that the challenge we will have to face, together with the common challenges, is the difficulty of climbing a mountain to reach a local tribe. Now take it from me. It's one thing to know the challenge but it's a totally different thing to really experience the actual challenge.

We hiked for about two hours and forty-five minutes to reach the Mangyan tribe, crossing a river and hiking several difficult mountains. Now when I say difficult, I mean difficult. The mountains we trekked had very varied grounds. There were steep sections, muddy sections and rocky sections with very sharp rocks which makes the hike more difficult. I remember myself praying several times during the hike, asking God to help me not to quit as it will be a bad example for people who were with me that looked at me as their leader. But as much as I wanted to keep the hardships I was experiencing to myself the point came when I just sighed, "I can't do it anymore!" with many hearing me. But I praise the Lord because I eventually got to our destination.

I developed a deeper acknowledgment of missionaries who go to mountain communities to share the Gospel to people there. Climbing mountains is just one of the many challenges they face. Living in a place where the usual comforts of city life is absent is I believe, a bigger challenge. Add to that the difficulty of adjusting to the culture and language of a particular place. They willingly go through these just so they can heed God's call for them to go to the regions beyond for the cause of the Gospel.

And many Christians in urbanized places continue to ignore their duty of declaring the Gospel despite the "ideal" conditions they are in. This is sad.

I believe that more money should go to supporting missions. If a church does not have a mission fund to support missions then that church should stop existing. God's call is that we deliver the Gospel unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). Not all of us can go there. But there are those who are going there or are already there. The only way you can obey the call in Acts 1:8 is if we support missions, and when I say "support", I mean generously!

Why are missionaries in difficult places able to continue with their God-given work? I believe the experience of the presence of God in their lives as a result of their obedience is the answer. Intimacy with God is so satisfying for them! And how can one be intimate with God? If you embrace His will in your life. Missionaries clearly have embraced God's will in their lives. Who would want to be away from the comforts of urban life and the joy of family in exchange for the difficult life of missions? Only a deep contentment in God can make a person do that. And again you can only feel God's presence in your life if you will embrace His will. God's presence is where His will is. I remember Moses in the 33rd chapter of Exodus when he said to God that although they will be brought to a land flowing with milk and honey, if God's presence will not be there, then it would be better not to be in that place. Don't you want to be where His presence is?

Mission life is difficult, I can never overemphasize that fact. But it's fulfilling because it is God that you're with (See the promise at the end of Matt. 28:19-20). It's rewarding! Because God Himself and His presence is the reward. You want to prove what I'm saying? Then go to missions.

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A problem of Old Testament proportion

Is the problem of preachers watering down the real message from the Scriptures (in some cases, polluting the message)

a new thing?

Not really. This problem goes way back to the Old Testament times. We can read is Jeremiah 23:21-22 that God said, "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings." Looks familiar , right?

According to these verses, what gives us a clue that there's a problem? People who have heard the supposed men from God preach never arrived to a decision to repent from their sins. Time and again, we read from the New Testament that people who responded to the Gospel message resulted to a change in their lifestyle, one that forsakes sin. The words are very clear... "they should have turned them from their evil way". How many people in our churches were clearly described by Jeremiah 23:22? A lot! Our churches nowadays are filled with false converts who attend church services on a regular basis, declares themselves as "Christians", but clearly lack the changed life that the Bible talks of in terms of true believers. They are people who profess of faith but show NO outward evidence of its existence. This is exactly what James talked about in the second chapter of his book when he discussed the problem of faith being dead because the proof of good works is absent.

The Bible is so clear when it said "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Cor 5:17)."

Let's go back to our main text (Jeremiah 23:21-22) and now examine what brought the pitiful result. The clue is in black and white and is as clear as day. The supposed prophets did not preach from the Word ("...if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words..."). The result (men not turning from their evil ways) will be expected if the message we preach does not come from God's Word. Well you can argue by saying, "Well I still spoke from the Bible. I just lightened the treatment." I will never back down from saying that the message is still not from the Scriptures if you say that you change just a little the real emotion of God when it comes to sin. If God hates sin, then we should declare just that to people. We should not make any effort of making sin a non-issue just so we can avoid offending people by showing them how wretched they are in front of God. The message of the Gospel is this... we're sinful people who are bound for Hell but God, instead of pouring His wrath on us, gave His only son, Jesus, so He would be the one to suffer for the sins we so enjoyably committed, and that the only response He is asking from us is repentance and faith.

I once heard someone say that the reason why the Gospel message is being repackaged (e.g. "God has a wonderful plan for you", "God loves you as you are") is to make the message relevant to our time which gives importance to concepts like tolerance, non-offense and political correctness. I totally disagree with this. The Gospel that shouts "repentance and faith" should not be changed even a bit for the purpose of making it relevant to the present. People in our time MUST instead make a decision to make the Gospel relevant to their lives even if it runs against what our times hold on as its most cherished "values" or else, its Hell for them.

People in the past have made the mistake already of changing the message from the Bible. It did not bring the results promised by God. We preachers of the present time must not make the same mistake or else, we might, one of these days, hear God declare to mankind about us, "...I have not spoken to them..."

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Grace misunderstood

Grace is defined as an "unmerited favor." This is the same kind of grace that God bestowed on us when we, the "unlovable" because of our sins, became recipients of the benefits of His truly remarkable show of love. Grace is what agape love is... loving unconditionally. We cannot ever love like God for it takes a character like God's to be able to love a wretched humanity as ours.

But sadly, this grace has been misunderstood a lot of times. There are people who have become very comfortable with sin, having no fear anymore of the eternal consequence of their preoccupation with it because they think that God's grace will still bring them to Heaven. You will hear them say something like this when shown that they are bound for Hell because of their sins, "I thought the Bible said something about God paying for the sins of the world?" I guess we've sung "Amazing Grace" too much in funerals that's why they came to the conclusion that God's grace saves everyone, even those who are unrepentant of their sins.

The unbelievers are not the only ones that have misunderstood the nature of God's grace. There are also some Christians in the group. These Christians believe that we, as recipients of God's grace, should also exercise grace to others. Well, I agree with that. But what I don't agree with is how they wrongly exercise grace. There are Christians that believe that they are using grace correctly when they just shut up when a person misbehaves or commits a sin, not making the effort to show to that person what wrong he/she has done. They believe that grace applied means just letting the person continue on with what they're doing (even if it's wrong), hoping that his inaction for the inappropriate action will make the person see his love and later decide not to do the act anymore.

I don't think that is correct. If what they believe is correct and that my stand is wrong, then we've totally disregarded the verse that said "...open rebuke is better than secret love... (Prov. 27:5)" and verses that give importance to correction. Many have failed to understand that God's grace is NOT a consenting grace.

We must understand that in God giving us grace, it never meant that He closed His eyes to our sins. The reason why He gave grace was because He saw our sins. The reason why there is the much-loved John 3:16 was because we are destined to perish for our sins. The reason why God had to demonstrate His love toward us was because of our sins. Now, the Father is able to give us grace because His Son, Jesus, paid for our sins. He did not just give grace without any payment for the sins we have committed. Actually, He demanded payment. If He just forgave without someone making the payment for the penalty of sin, then He will be an evil God for He tolerated sin. Forgiveness is now possible because a payment has been made through the shed blood of Jesus.

Now understand this, in order for us to receive that grace, there is a decision required from us. We have to decide to repent of our sins and to put our total trust on Jesus for our salvation. It is wrong to think that because Jesus has already suffered on the cross, God's grace is already for us. The only time we can receive that grace is when we humble ourselves in front of God in repentance and faith. Remember, "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5)." Only in a humble recognition of our sinfulness can God give us grace. It was only after Zaccheus declared that he will restore fourfold whatever he has cheated on people that Jesus said, "Today salvation has come into this home." It was only after the sinful woman's decision to forsake the world in favor of Jesus as shown in her act of breaking a bottle of expensive perfume on Jesus' feet that Jesus declared, "Her sins which are many are now forgiven." God's grace is only to the humble.

This is also how we must exercise grace to others as Christians. We must point to others (using the Bible as much as we can) what they are doing wrongly. This, I believe, is part of giving grace. You love a person enough to show him his wrongdoing so that he will not continue doing it and amass for himself more consequences. Now if the person is humble enough to acknowledge that, yes, he is wrong, and he shows a willingness to surrender to God with this in his life, you again give him grace by being patient in waiting for God to complete His transforming work in him. But then, of course, in pointing to others what wrong they have done, we must be sure that we ourselves are not guilty of the same for the Scriptures have commanded us not to point to the mote of others if we likewise have mote in our eyes (Matt. 7:1-5).

God's grace is truly amazing! He saved wretched people like us. As recipient of that great love let us now exalt His grace by not using it wrongly and making it appear as if it's a consenting grace. Let's not cheapen it. The price for God's grace is Jesus' life. God's grace, although offered to everyone, can only be enjoyed by those who are humble enough to acknowledge that he is so undeserving of it. Humility was the key to Jesus' sacrifice for us. He left the splendor of Heaven and humbled himself, even to death at the cross. We must respond to his act of love in the same manner... with humility.

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When Christians understand the blessing of salvation

Many Christians nowadays do not act their spiritual state (makes you doubt if they’re really Christians). They act as if having eternal life is not that a big deal and that it’s God’s duty to save them. Gratitude is very much absent. The reason to this is the watering down of the Gospel message. Sin is trivialized and God is portrayed as simply loving, ignoring His holiness and justice.

But if a Christian has fully realized how undeserving he was for God’s mercy and forgiveness, things will take a 180-degree turn. He will feel so indebted towards God and will have a natural need to show God his deep gratitude for what He has given him. Truly, this person has never imagined ever what he will find himself doing for his Savior. In a way, he is left surprised with how different he has become ever since he made the decision to repent of his sins and place his trust on Jesus for his salvation.

First thing you will notice is a craving to know more of God and for time in prayer to Him. You will suddenly see him spending a regular time reading the Bible, attending church for the message that will be delivered there, conversing with other Christians about the things of God which in the past would be the last thing he will ever think of doing. A quiet time in prayer also becomes an important part of his day for he has found how essential it is to always give God his trust for whatever thing he engages himself in.

As a result of his study of the Word and time spent in prayer on a regular basis, you will see him giving importance to living a holy life. As what a song said, “Everything is different now. He’s not the same anymore. The wrong places he used to go, are now the places that he avoids. The old crowd he used to hang around he understands will only pull him down. He’s not the same anymore. His life has been changed!” His desire is to conform to his Savior. He obeys what the Scriptures said, “Be ye holy for I am holy (1 Pet. 1:16).” His taste has changed drastically, from enjoying pig’s food to only what’s pure.

But the most exciting result of understanding the blessing of salvation is the desire to share what they have received to others. They understand how precious the gift is and so, they want others to also have it. They know how tragic the experience will be for others if they will not know of the Savior. And so, they swallow their pride and fear and deliver the message to anyone that needs it.

I’ve seen this result several times in Christians. In our ministry, we were witnesses to how a college girl, a month after her conversion, committed herself to active participation in our regular street evangelism session. In our church, a new convert father right away organized an event in his home so that he can invite his friends and relatives so that they can hear the preaching of the Gospel. This same guy also joins our church’s street evangelism sessions where we give out Gospel tracts. One couple I personally know, for their 15^th wedding anniversary, instead of organizing a get-together with family and friends, chose to give out tracts in a crowded mall. What a way to honor God in their marriage!

To sum up the effect of understanding what a big blessing salvation is, I can’t find a better word for “selflessness”. Yes, someone who is overflowing with gratitude to God for his unmerited favor becomes selfless. It is natural for him to forget himself in God’s favor. He understands very well that the price for his forgiveness was God’s own life-blood. Oh, he knows how truly amazing God’s grace to him was! He does not look at God as unfair for his demand that he be a partaker of His sufferings and for him to take up his own cross and follow Him. He sees it a privilege to die for Him!

The experience is captured in a story of a young Englishman miner in the 1800s who, after a successful search for gold in California, made a stop at New Orleans where he witnessed slaves being sold. Below is the full story:

The Englishman was surprised with the auction that was taking place for the slave trade had been outlawed already for years at England. As he drew close to the crowd, he saw that the next to be auctioned was a beautiful young black girl who was made to walk around so everyone could see her. The miner heard vile jokes and comments that spoke of evil intentions from those around him. When the bidding began, bids quickly surpassed what most slave owners would pay. As bids went higher and higher, two men apparently really wanted her. They were outbidding each other while laughing at the jokes and comments of evil intentions each of them made. The miner stood silent and angry all throughout these. Then one made a bid too high for the other to outbid. The poor girl looked down. The auctioneer called out, “Going once! Going twice!”

Just before the final call, the miner yelled out a price that was exactly twice the previous bid. An amount that exceeded the worth of any man. The crowd laughed thinking that the bid was a joke. The auctioneer motioned to the miner to show him his money. The miner opened his bag of gold. The auctioneer shook his head in disbelief and waved the girl to him.

When the girl was eye-to-eye with the miner, she spat straight to his face and said, “I hate you!’ The miner, without a word, wiped his face, paid the auctioneer, took the girl by the hand and walked away the still laughing crowd.

He seemed to be looking for something when they walked up one street and down another. Finally, he stopped in front of some sort of a store. The girl waited outside as the dirty faced miner walked inside and talked to an elderly man. The girl couldn’t make out what they were talking about. At one point, the voice got louder and she heard the store clerk say, “But it’s the law! It’s the law!” Peering in, she saw the miner pull out his bag of gold and pour what was left of it on the table. With what seemed a look of disgust, the clerk picked up the gold and went inside a back room. He came out with a piece of paper which the miner signed.

When the miner came out of the store, he stretched out his hand to the girl and said, “Here are your manu-mission papers. You are free.” The girl did not look up. He tried again. “Here. These are the papers that say you are free. Take them.” “I hate you!” the girl said, refusing to look up. “Why do you make fun of me?” “No, listen,” he pleaded. “These are your freedom papers. You are a free person.” The girl looked at the papers, then looked at him, and looked at the papers once again. “You just bought me… and now you’re setting me free?”

“That’s why I bought you. I bought you to set you free.”

The beautiful young girl fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. “You bought me so you can set me free!” she said over and over.

Clutching the miner’s heavy boots, the girl looked up at the miner and said, “All I want to do is to serve you- because you bought me to set me free!”

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