One Act of Christian Kindness

IN A small town in Gujarat, India, John’s father was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the late 1950’s. John as well as his five brothers and sisters and their mother were all staunch Roman Catholics and as such were opposed to the father’s faith.

One day, John’s father asked John to deliver an envelope to a friend in the congregation. That morning, however, John cut his finger badly while opening a large tin barrel. Nevertheless, wanting to obey his father, he tied a rag around his bleeding finger and set out on foot to deliver the envelope.

When John arrived at the address, the recipient’s wife, who was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, accepted the envelope. She noticed John’s injured finger and offered to help. She got out her first-aid kit, cleaned the wound with an antiseptic, and bandaged the finger. Then she made John a cup of hot tea, all the while talking to him in a friendly manner about the Bible.

By this time, John’s prejudice toward the Witnesses was beginning to melt, so he asked her about two topics on which his father’s beliefs differed from his​—whether Jesus is God and whether Christians should pray to Mary. Having learned John’s native Gujarati, the Witness answered him from the Bible and gave him the booklet “This Good News of the Kingdom.”

Later, as he read the booklet, John felt that he was hearing Bible truth for the first time. He went to his priest and asked him the same two questions. The priest soon lost his temper and threw a Bible at him, shouting: “You’ve become Satan! Show me where the Bible says that Jesus is not God. Show me where it says that you should not worship Mary. Show me!” John was so shocked by the priest’s behavior that he told the priest, “I will never set foot in a Catholic church again.” And he never did!

John started to study with the Witnesses, took his stand for true worship, and began serving Jehovah. In time, several other members of the family did the same. Today, John still has a scar on the forefinger of his right hand where he cut himself some 60 years ago. He fondly remembers the one act of Christian kindness that drew him to a life of pure worship.​—2 Cor. 6:4, 6.