An Uncle's Witness
A friend and a supporter of this ministry gave me a book to read the other day. It's called Take Your Glory Lord and it's the life story of William Duma, who was a Baptist pastor here in South Africa until he died in the late 70s. What an awesome book this was. I was gripped from the beginning, and this man had an incredible healing ministry. And his story is definitely worth sharing.
As a child, it was the faith of his uncle Vika who was converted to Christianity that had such a great impact on him. William's family was still very much wrapped up in the tribal practices of their culture and especially the veneration of the ancestors. And uncle Vika arrived home having been converted to Christianity and stood up against this. And I loved what he said here on page 6.
Bold Faith Impact
His uncle said “I found the great secret which robs fear of its power. It isn't wearing goatskin around the ankles, wrist or neck, or sacrificing to ancestors. It is a power mightier than you know, invested in a name, the name of names, and the name is Jesus. From now on,” he said, “I am Jesus Christ's man. He is my Lord, master of my life, which is under his kingly, fatherly protection and love.” And then he told the story of how he came to Christ, and he told him “since I did this my spirit soars like the wings of a bird up and up, surely through boundlessness to the gates of heaven. What is my secret? Jesus Christ is my Lord and Master.”
And his family couldn't handle this and they kicked him out. But this had such an impact on young William Duma, who said this: “Uncle had a fever of God! He was mad with the first joy. The name of Jesus was ever on his lips. Each dawn saw him climbing to a spot he made his prayer home.”
The author says “William Duma never ceased to thank God that his initial exposure to redemption's power was the glowing life of his ordinary heathen uncle Vika, who had come to God.“
Faithful Bold Witness
Man, this inspired me because I thought this man was obviously so bold in his faith that it had an impact on this young boy.
If we stand up for Christ, we can have an impact if we are bold about our faith and have the name of Jesus, our Lord and Master ever on our lips, whose life could be changed and impacted for the good, for the Kingdom of God, if we just stand up?
So often we hide our faith, as Jesus said, hide our light under a bushel. But if we stand up for Jesus and wear our faith on our sleeve, we can have such an impact. Uncle Vika's bold faith made a huge impact on this man's life, as we shall see in the days to come. Let's follow in his footsteps.
