Strength in Weakness
Voice auditions for the Kannada New Testament recording were taking place and many people – such as bankers, engineers, teachers, and pastors – had been invited. Though the team was happy with their selections for the major roles of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Jesus, they were a bit disappointed to be missing a talented reader for Paul.
Soon after, G. entered the room. However, because a rare accident had blinded his left eye, he was virtually ignored; everyone assumed that his partial lack of sight would keep him from reading the Bible well.
At the end of the audition process, G. was still patiently waiting for his turn, so the team finally gave him an opportunity. They first asked him to read Luke 18:38, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” The confidence, emotion, and expression he showed while reading this line impressed the team so much that they had him turn to the book of James. Without a single mistake, he read it completely through.
So, given his now-obvious gifting, the decision was made to assign G. the only remaining major role: Paul.
He had never even been given a chance to read the Bible in church.
Members of the recording team were immediately challenged by some of the people who had been given other roles. They were dismayed by this choice and questioned how a person with one eye could read such a big portion of the New Testament – but the team felt that God’s leading and provision were clear.
After hearing that he had been selected to read the role of Paul for the Audio Bible, G. was so incredibly blessed that tears rolled down his cheeks. He shared that he had never even been given a chance to read the Bible in church because of his disability.
The recording team and proofreaders then prayed for G. and submitted him to the Lord. By God’s abundant grace, G. read every line designated to Paul in Acts and the Epistles with great heart and passion – so he may be a blessing to his entire language community!
