May Truth Triumph!

     All week we have been speaking of how other countries celebrate Easter! Today, we are going to speak about a country that doesn’t celebrate Easter. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Do not assume this country has freedom because they are a democracy. Their crowded cities and their culture give them nothing but bondage. This country is India. There are many missionaries serving in this country undercover. This is a difficult place to minister and a ministry where your rewards come by making a difference in individual lives.

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A young lady who is serving like Brittne writes:
“My country is a mix of Hindu and Islamic beliefs. The people here do not celebrate Easter; in fact, most of them have never heard about Jesus or what He did. The people of my country represent one of the largest unreached people groups in the world. Pray that the message of Easter would be spread! I will celebrate by gathering with several women and their children on Saturday. My aim is to share with them the story of Jesus and His resurrection. On Sunday, I will join other believers for a sunrise service. I’ve been meditating on the sufferings of Christ. As I think about the cross He bore, I am rejoicing that I am seeing people from different tongues and tribes come to believe in Christ. I see the sovereign work of Dad (God, she can't write God in her email) throughout history as Christ died for us, and even today He is at work redeeming his children. “
Traditional Indian society is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. The Indian caste system describes the social stratification and social restrictions in the Indian subcontinent, in which social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous hereditary groups. This system not only ranks people into a class but also a value of importance. Today there are an estimated 160 million people classified as “untouchables” in Bombay alone. The term “untouchables” means "ground", "suppressed", "crushed", or "broken to pieces" and expresses their "weakness, poverty and humiliation at the hands of the upper castes in the Indian society. An untouchable experiences violence, murder, rape and class related crimes to the scale of 110,000 registered cases a year, according to 2005 statistics.
Erich Bridges, SBC International Mission Board wrote in a recent article, “In traditional, middle-class Indian families, daughters are prostituting themselves on the side. Why? Because they want money! Values are being sacrificed for gain. And it started in the very foundations of Bombay. The city mixes New York’s money and manic energy, Los Angeles’ glitz and guns, Shanghai’s entrepreneurs and restless masses, Mexico City’s size and organized crime — with plenty of Calcutta’s poverty stirred in."
Mumbai’s nickname among Indians is “Maximum City” — maximum people, maximum wealth, maximum poverty, maximum traffic, maximum crime, maximum entertainment. Followers of Christ in the city add another: maximum darkness. Most of Mumbai’s millions “are so multi-generationally saturated in darkness and tradition that they don’t know how to look for light,” says a Christian worker. Hindus are the vast majority. But the city also is home to 2 million Muslims, as well as Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsees and members of every caste and virtually every people group in India. Professing Christians of all varieties, including the city’s centuries-old Roman Catholic community, comprise about 5 percent of the population. Evangelical believers, however, account for just 0.15 percent. “You see the church expanding only in the slums today, but not much among the well-educated people,” says Christian leader Ivan Raskino. “The sad thing is that Mumbai is expanding much more than the church.” Why? Rapid population growth among Hindus and Muslims, for one thing. Mumbai’s go-go pace, for another. Christians also labor under the weight of the city’s history.
If we (Christians) get our hearts right with God, if we draw close to each other, really humble ourselves and cry out to Him for the city, God will answer us. India’s national motto, which appears on every rupee coin and note is, “Truth alone triumphs.”
Let’s join hearts with those serving in India and pray for this dark land. May Truth triumph in Mumbai, while there is still time!

Watch this video on  India