Even an imperfectly printed Bible can change lives!

ABAH, Malaysia — Iskander was so delighted when he received his own copy of the newly-published Malay Bible through the Sabah Prison Fellowship that he immediately wrote his name in it. Having recently become a Christian he was determined to learn as much as he could from the Word of God and eagerly began to read.

When he reached the Book of Jeremiah, however, he was disappointed to find that some chapters were missing. Not wanting to miss out on any information, he asked the chaplain to take the defective Bible away and replace it with one that contained all the text. The Prison Fellowship did so, returning the imperfect Bible to the Bible Society outlet where it was pushed to the back of a dusty shelf.

Sold out

In the meantime, the new Malay Bibles were proving so popular that they were soon sold out. A fresh stock of a new revised-edition Malay Bible was due to arrive but it soon became apparent that this would be delayed for some time in customs.

Ibu Suria, a regular customer at the Bible Society outlet, was bitterly disappointed when she came to buy more Malay Bibles for her ministry. She pleaded with the sales lady, urging her to search the shelves for even one more copy, which, she said, could make all the difference in someone’s life. To her surprise, the sales lady found the defective Bible on a dusty shelf and sold it to a grateful Mrs Suria.

Some months later Mrs Suria was teaching a Bible class using the defective Bible and noticed that one of her students had the same name as the one written in the front of the Bible. She showed the Bible to Iskander, who told her his story - that he had used that Bible in prison and, having been released, was now studying the Bible and helping others to come to know Jesus. He was delighted to discover that his old Bible, imperfect as it was, was being used in Mrs Suria’s ministry.

A few weeks later Mrs Suria had finished preaching in a small house church in a village when a young woman named Livita approached her. “Your sermon really touched me,” she told Mrs Suria. “Do you have time to talk to me? My heart is very burdened about something.”

She poured out her feelings of failure, guilt and shame to Mrs Suria, who then prayed with her and counselled her using the Word of God. Feeling much happier, Livita thanked Mrs Suria and prepared to go home to face her situation with new strength. Wanting her to have a copy of God’s Word to consult in her troubles, Mrs Suria gave Livita the only Bible she had with her - the imperfect copy of the Malay Bible.

Only God knows the work that this ‘imperfect’ Bible will do in Livita’s life and in others who may receive it after her. (WR 368/36 - 6.02)