Thailand recently celebrated its “Songkran Holiday” where traffic accidents increase drastically as a result of drunk drivers. During the “seven dangerous days” of April 11-17 this year we had a record breaking 442 deaths as a result of highway wrecks.
So, how many of these 442 people went out into a Christ-less eternity? Statistically, 420 of these people were Buddhist. Seventeen of them were Muslim. And maybe 3 of these people claimed to be Christians. I wonder how many had truly put their trust in Jesus? Based on my experiences of sharing the gospel with Thai people, I seriously doubt that many of these people had ever heard the gospel.
The apostle Paul was passionate about taking the gospel to those who had never heard. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. Rom. 15:20,21 Oswald J. Smith expressed it like this: "No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once."
No matter how safe or dangerous a particular highway might be, all of us are on a road that leads straight to eternity. There are still many people in Thailand and around the world who are waiting to hear the gospel for the first time. Thank you for standing with us as we continue to share the gospel with Thai people who have never heard.
Yours for Thailand
David M. Speights