For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.
Luke 19:10
Yakov was stuck between two worlds. In one were his family and the church, in the other, his ambition to be a doctor. He knew that as a believer in the Soviet Union he had no chance of getting into a university. His teachers told him all he had to do was join the Young Communist League, take the pledge of atheism, and he’d have his choice of universities to attend.
Yakov struggled for months, and finally told his parents he was not going to church any more.
“How can we change your mind?” his mother asked.
“I want blue jeans,” Yakov said. “Give me a pair of jeans, and I’ll go back to church.” Jeans cost about 150 rubles, more than Yakov’s father’s salary for a month. Even if you had the money to pay for them, jeans were almost impossible to find.
Yakov’s parents stayed up late many nights praying about his demand for blue jeans, asking God to give them wisdom about what to do.
About a month later, Yakov’s father announced that he received a notice from the post office that a package addressed to him had arrived from America. Occasionally people from the West sent books or religious literature, but the family couldn’t imagine what a package could possibly contain.
“I’m not sure if I should pick it up,” Yakov’s father said. “According to the notice we owe thirty rubles in customs duty and whatever’s inside may not be worth that much.” In the end, since all the children were so curious about what was in the package, he decided to pick it up.
The package was about the size of a large loaf of bread, and was wrapped in brown paper. There was no return address.
Yakov and his brothers and sister watched eagerly as his father took a pair of scissors and cut open the box, each of them wishing it contained their deepest desires.
Inside the box lay a brand new pair of Lee blue jeans.
Yakov went back to church, realizing God was seeking Him, and would even use a pair of blue jeans to draw him back.
Lord, help me keep my eyes open for creative ways to bring people to you.