A Boy Horse Thief

By Harold Smith

My story today is about an African boy who was a horse thief, and yet he got saved. He liked sports, and once in a while he would attend Gospel services at the mission, but he really wasn't a Christian. Often he would do things that were very sinful and wrong. One day a thought came into his mind, "I should steal a horse from the white men in the village", a common practice among the natives. So leaving home one night, he walked into the town and there he saw some fine horses tied, and he sized them all up and there was one he thought he'd like to have. So he untied it and jumped on his back, and as fast as he could, he took out of the village on his way home, and he was amazed that nobody saw him steal that horse. But as he rode along, all at once he heard a voice inside of him saying, "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL!" So he stopped - he could go no further. "What's this?" he thought to himself, "I've often heard the missionaries say that, but I've never heard it this way before, it must be the voice of God". Getting off of his horse, he held the bridle in his hand and for a while, he didn't know what to do but finally, he took the horse back and tied it without being caught. He went home, but he couldn't sleep, thinking about his sins and the past. The next day he went into the village and he sold a cow that he had and he bought some clothes to go to the meetings, but that still didn't get him clear of his guilt. He was still a sinner. He listened to the missionary tell him that he could come, confessing his sins, and tell the Lord Jesus that he was a sinner, and trust in the Lord Jesus to save him. So he came to the Lord Jesus, told Him that he had stolen a horse, told Him that he was a sinner, and trusted in Christ, who died on the cross for his sins. And he became a happy Christian. He went on to be a faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and a great blessing through his native years, many years to come. What about you, boys and girls? Your life could be greatly used of God. If you would get saved and then live for Him - Oh, how useful you could be to the Lord! But get saved first. Be saved today, and let the Lord use you later.