“Yes,” said her friend.

“You know this ‘Jesus?’” he asked.

“Why, yes,” he replied. “What do you know about him?”

The man then related this story: “As a young boy, my mother grew ill. My father went to the shaman. He said we must sacrifice a chicken to the gods for her to be well. We did, and when she worsened, he said we must sacrifice a goat. Again, we did what he said, but she grew worse.

“The shaman said we must now sacrifice a caribou. My father sold everything we owned to buy a caribou to sacrifice, but even that did not help. My mother died, and we were destitute.

“I was very angry that our religion had not helped us in our time of need, but I did not know where else to turn. Later, when I was married, my wife became ill. I went to the shaman as my father had done, and sacrificed a chicken.

“My wife only became more ill, and when the shaman said I must sacrifice a goat, I told him I had neither a goat nor the money to buy one. He said there was nothing more he could do, and soon after, my wife, like my mother before her, died.

“I was very angry again, and determined that I would no longer practice my religion. Soon after, while I was sleeping I had a dream. In my dream, a man appeared to me and said, ‘My name is Jesus. Follow me.’”

“I had never heard of this man before, and have never heard of him since–until you just mentioned his name. Where is he? Will you tell me more about him?”

Can you imagine what it must have been like for this man to hear in a prayer a name he had only encountered in a dream?

Is it any wonder this man became a follower of Jesus?

As my friend told me this story, I was reminded of the tremendous compassion of Jesus.

Two thousand years after He left earth, He is still behaving as the Good Shepherd, seeking lost sheep. Apparently, whether that sheep is in the remote regions of Asia or the wide‑open spaces of Arizona, He continues to communicate His love to honest seekers of truth.

I, for one, am grateful he does.