Tears glistened in the eyes of Salvation Army officer Shaw as he looked at the three men before him. Shaw was a medical missionary who had just arrived in India. It was the turn of the century, and the Salvation Army was taking over the care of the leper colony.
But these lepers had metal chains binding their hands and feet, cutting the diseased flesh. Captain Shaw turned to the guard and said, ‘Please unfasten the chains.’ “It isn’t safe,” the guards replied. ‘These men are dangerous criminals as well as lepers.’
I’ll be responsible. They’re suffering enough, ‘Captain Shaw said, as he put out his hand and took the keys. Then he knelt on the ground, tenderly removed the shackles and treated their bleeding ankles.
About two weeks later Captain Shaw had his first misgivings about freeing the criminals. He had to make an overnight trip and dreaded leaving his wife and child alone. But his wife was also a Salvation Army officer whose life was dedicated to God. She insisted that she was not afraid.
The next morning when she went to her front door, she was startled to see the three criminals lying on her steps.
One of them explained, ‘We know doctor go. We stay here so no harm come to you.’This was how ‘dangerous men’ responded to an act of love.
LOVE CAN CREATE MIRACLES.
Inspired from : Norman Vincent Peale (Treasury of Courage and Confidence)
What a wonderful change.