Droplets on a Parched Heart
When the Marines invaded Saipan, Saburo Arakaki was an eighteen-year-old student at the local vocational school. Forced into the hills by the fighting, he evaded the Americans for months. He finally surrendered to one of the detention camps where he found great tension between those who favored continued resistance and those who were convinced the war was over. The young and idealistic Arakaki was persuaded to murder two Japanese civilians who were leaders of the “defeatist” group. The teenaged assassin was soon caught, tried, and sentenced to death. Months later, while awaiting his execution, he learned that his sentence had been commuted to life in prison.
With no hope for the future, Arakaki was sullen and hateful toward his captors. About a year into his sentence, someone gave him a small booklet written in Japanese. He saw it was a short course in Christianity and knew he wanted nothing to do with anything western, much less religion. Yet his longing to read anything in his own language temporarily overcame his intense antagonism. He was soon reading about the Bible and amazingly found the words being absorbed into his heart. He described his feelings:
[The Bible] is truly an ancient book, but it has continued to be read even today. In it is something precious that captivates the hearts of people. In it is hidden the profound wisdom of God… No matter how many times one reads the Bible, there is always fresh meaning in its words words that will satisfy the longings of the heart.367
The effect of Scripture on this young man was profound, as one who knew him observed: “These words sank into Saburo’s heart like precious droplets of water soaking into the arid desert sands. He read on, brushing aside the thought that this was the Christian Bible he was reading about.”368 By God’s written Word alone, a transformation was begun in the heart of this bitter young man.
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever.
—Deuteronomy 29:29