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José!
José! Wake up!" Mama was calling." José, wake up and come. Mama's
sick!" |
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José was
awake now and went to his Mama's bed. He hadn't been sleeping well because he
knew that his Mama was very ill. Now at her bedside, he was wide awake. |
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"José,"
she gasped, "you must go for Grandma! I'm very sick. Go get Grandma to
help." |
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José lived
in a small village called Cornaca which was high in the |
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Mama! She
was the only one José had. There were no brothers or sisters, and Papa had
run away and left them. Yes, Grandma must come quickly and help Mama get
better. Mama was the only one who belonged to José. |
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He arrived
at Grandma's little hut and called, "Grandma! Wake up! Wake up and come
now, because Mama's sick!" |
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Grandma
got up and soon they were both hurrying along the path back to the hut where
Mama was. |
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Grandma
did all she could to help, but, sadly, it was too late. Nothing could help
now. Early that morning José stood unbelieving as Grandma told him that his
dear Mama was dead. How could this happen? Who would be his very own now?
Would he have to live alone? |
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Grandma
took José home to her little hut, but even Grandma couldn't ease the ache in
the small boy's heart. He felt forsaken. There was no one who loved him like
Mama. |
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Sad to
say, José did not know about the kind Saviour who loves little children. He
had never heard that God is a loving Father to those who trust in the Lord
Jesus. He had never read or even seen God's precious Word, the Bible, that tells us that the Lord Jesus "took them
[children] up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them."
Mark |
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Some time
later, Papa came back. It was not a happy meeting. Because Papa had been gone
so long, he seemed more like a stranger. Now his message to Grandma was
surprising. "I want José to come with me. I have married again, and I
need José to work in the fields. He's coming with me." There was no use
for José to fight against it. What could a small boy do? |
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So José
left with Papa to go to a new home ... only it did not seem like his home. His new stepmother thought
he should work hard. Sometimes he had to work with Papa in the fields, and
sometimes he had to care for his stepbrothers and stepsisters. |
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It was not
long before another trouble came into the life of poor José. Papa was working
as a witch doctor. Sometimes he was able to cure sick people, and he demanded
to be paid in strong drink. |
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It was a
very sad life for José. Through the years he had to work hard, and his heart
was sad and lonely. But God was tenderly watching José from heaven and
planned one day to show him how great and how tender God's love is for poor
lost sinners. However, that day was still a long way off. Before José was to
learn of the greatness of God's love, he had another very sad day. |
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Papa was
having more success in being a witch doctor. But since his pay was strong
drink, Papa was often drunk. Finally one day Papa had a hard time contacting the
evil spirits as he worked as a witch doctor. He drank more and more, but
still could not contact the evil spirits. Poor Papa found that the devil was
a hard master, and he died that day from too much drink. |
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What a sad
day for José! Papa was gone too. He was a real orphan now, and his life began
to be more difficult. He was the oldest child, and he had to help his
stepmother with all the hard work that Papa used to do. His stepmother did
not love him, and she often beat him. |
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José
endured many long, hard days until finally he could stand it no longer. He
had to do something. He would run away! He would find his way back to
Grandma's house. Life would not be so bad there. |
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José
watched for an opportunity to escape, and he left. He headed for the village
where Grandma lived. He knew he must get away fast before anyone came to look
for him. He went quickly over the dusty trails. Sometimes he walked and
sometimes he ran. |
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Suddenly,
José heard the clip-clop of a horse behind him. They were coming for him!
Where could he hide? |
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There was
no place to hide! The horse was coming closer, so José ran, anywhere, as fast
as he could! Suddenly the horse was beside him, and strong arms swept him up
into the saddle. |
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His stepmother
had sent the neighbor on a horse to find him. He could not get to Grandma's.
He was taken back against his will for more beatings and more long days of
hard work. |
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José now
felt very forsaken. No one loved him and there was no one for him to love. He
thought, I'll never have a home and
I'll never have my own family. I'll always be only an orphan. |
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José would
have been right in thinking that he would never have a family ... if it had
not been that God had a special and loving plan for him. God is a loving
Father and desires to have children of His own. He chooses poor lost sinners
to be cleansed from their sins and adopted into His family. God sent His only
Son, the Lord Jesus, into this world to save sinners. The Lord Jesus shed His
precious blood for sinners so that we might be welcomed into God's own
family. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12. |
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José still
did not know about God's wonderful plan. He lived with his stepmother for
several more years and waited until he was older and stronger to run away
again. This time he got away and felt that he could manage by himself now.
José found work in a mining town. Not long after this he was invited to some
Bible meetings. For the first time he heard God's good news, that
"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." 1 Timothy 1:15. He heard that God loved him, a poor orphan, and that the Lord
Jesus had died for his sins. José lonely heart accepted God's loving offer,
and he was saved. Now he suddenly found that he had a family! And what a
family! There were not just a few, but many hundreds of believers who told
him that they were all his brothers and sisters in Christ. "We have the
same loving God as our Father," they explained to him. José had joy in
his heart that he never thought was possible. |
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If you
were to visit José today, he would tell you that God has done wonderful
things for him that he had never dreamed of when he was a poor orphan boy. He
knows he has a wonderful home prepared for him, in heaven, but God also
lovingly gave José a home here in this world. He has a lovely young wife and
three small children. Recently José said, "I never expected to have a
house or a family, but God has given me both. I never thought that I would
ever live in a house as nice as the one that God has given me. God has been
very good to me!" |
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God wants
to be a Father to you, just as He is for José. He has a wonderful plan for
your life, and it all begins with the same good news that brought joy to
José. "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23. Have you received God's
gift? He is waiting to take you into His family. Trust in the goodness of God
and receive His Son, the Lord Jesus by faith today! "Behold,
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called the sons of God." 1 John 3:1. |
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