Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song… An intensely interesting incident was related lately by Dr. J.G. Paten of a discovery of a term in the language of Aniwa for "Faith." It seems that for a long time no equivalent could be found, and the work of Bible translation was paralysed for want of so fundamental and oft. recurring a term. The natives apparently regarded the verb "to hear" as equivalent to belief. For instance, suppose a native were asked whether he heard a certain statement. Should he credit the statement he would reply, "Yes, I heard it," but should he disbelieve it, he would answer, "No, I did not hear it," meaning not that his ears had failed to catch the words, but that he did not regard them as true. This definition of faith was obviously insufficient — many passages, such as "faith cometh by hearing," would be impossible of translation through so meagre a channel; and prayer was made continually that God would supply the missing link. No effort had been spared in interrogating the most intelligent native pundits, but all in vain; none caught the hidden meaning of the word sought by the missionary. One day Dr. Paten was sitting in his room anxiously pondering. He sat on an ordinary chair, his feet resting on the floor; just then an intelligent native entered the room, and the thought flashed to the missionary to ask the all-absorbing question yet once again in a new light. Was he not resting on that chair? Would that attitude lend itself to the discovery? "Taea," said Dr. Paten, "what am I doing now?" "Koihae ana, Misi" ("You're sitting down. Misi"), the native replied. Then the missionary drew up his feet and placed them upon the bar of the chair just above the floor, and, leaning back upon the chair in an attitude of repose, asked, "What am I doing now? Fakarongrongo, Misi" ("You are leaning wholly," or, "You have lifted yourself from every other support"). "That's it," shouted the missionary, with an exultant cry; and a sense of holy joy awed him as he realised that his prayer had been so fully answered. To lean on Jesus wholly and only is surely the true meaning of appropriating or saving faith. And now, "Fakarongrongo Iesu ea anea moure" ("Leaning on Jesus unto eternal life," or, "for all the things of eternal life"), is the happy experience of those Christian islanders, as it is of all who thus cast themselves unreservedly on the Saviour of the world for salvation. Parallel Verses KJV: Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. |
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