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Omar's Good Mistake
This story is true, but the names of the people have been changed, and the country cannot be revealed due to sensitivity.
“Oh, no, I forgot to bring a basket,” Omar muttered as he walked down the dusty street. “How will I ever be able to carry my fish back home?”
Omar’s mother had sent him to the market to buy fish. In the Middle Eastern village where Omar lives, people take baskets with them to the marketplace. Then they can carry their food home easily. But Omar forgot his basket. How could he carry several large, slippery fish home without dropping them?
The man at the fish market didn’t have a basket either. But he did have an idea. Carefully he wrapped the fish in some papers someone had given him. Now Omar could carry the fish without a problem.
Omar reached his house, handed the fish to his mother, and went on to do other things. Soon he forgot about the problem at the market.
But God had just begun to work in Omar’s home. The man at the market had used gospel tracts to wrap the fish. As his mother began to prepare the fish, she read the words printed on the tracts. They told about God and how much He loves everyone. Omar’s mother thought the words were beautiful. She was curious to know more.
Later she showed the tracts to her husband. He too liked what he read. He shared them with his friends. They all agreed that they had never heard such sweet words.
The people in Omar’s village are Muslim. They do not know that Jesus is God’s Son or that He died to save our sins and give us eternal life. They follow the teaching of a man named Muhammad.
But Omar’s family could not forget the words on the tracts. Omar’s father wrote a letter asking to know more about God’s Son. He sent it to the address printed on one of the tracts. Soon he received a New Testament in a language he could read and understand. Eagerly he began to read more about Jesus.
A few days later, someone came to Omar’s house. He was the man who sent the New Testament to Omar’s father. He talked to the family and answered many of their questions about Jesus. Today a group of Christians meets in Omar’s village.
When Jesus was on the earth, He once used a young boy’s fish to feed 5,000 men, plus women and children. Jesus used the fish Omar bought to share the gospel with Omar’s mother and father. It was no accident that Omar forgot to take a basket to the market that day!
Information for this story was supplied by Missionary Del Kingsriter. This story is being used with permission from the Assemblies of God World Missions.
©2002 The General Council of the Assemblies of God. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce and adapt lesson components for exclusive use in the local church. Any other use requires written permission. |
