His Master’s Voice….

My dear young friends in Christ, I greet you and bless you all in the mighty name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As we spend our brim of youth in lock downs, rapidly changing teaching and learning systems and an ever uncertain world drawn into bitter wars causing chaos to all, still we have one person who is never changing and faithful, loving and protecting us, our dear Lord, Saviour, Master, and loving father, Jesus Christ.

During my very young age of about five years, I was very much drawn to my father, a school teacher, warden of the hostel, church youth leader and a good parent. He grew up under the British clergy and  scholars and had imbibed good qualities from them: simple, impeccably dressed in neatly pressed shirt, clean shaven and combed always and as fresh and busy as the bee, moving around always doing productive work. Students used to come around 4.00 AM for his English tuition classes where with his impeccable British accent, he will teach Tagore : “Lightly O lightly we bear her along…(The palanquin bearers)” which still lingers in my ears even today !  This school had many audio visual equipment including an Audio Visual lab ( as it was called), a projector, gramophone, speaker systems etc., and my father was donning the role of patron of this also. I am talking about 60 years back when terminology  like “smart class” was never heard of….but this school students had the  privilege of seeing a bacteria moving on the screen for their science classes…. and the school  notably produced world class scholars who were achievers in many fields. Why I am giving such an elaborate description here is that of all the audio visual aids in the school, the most which attracted me was a small box with a long cone which produced music or worship songs. More sinister was the logo present on this box with a cute little dog poking its nose deep inside the cone, attentively listening to the sound….My father  told me that the dog was a terrier named “Nipper” listening to his (late) master’s voice as produced from this magical instrument called “gramaphone”. The excited face of the dog with its rapt attention, bending down almost inside the “cone” expecting its master to suddenly jump out from the cone, left a deep impression in me about the love and passion the dog had on its master, longing to hear him, see him and listen to him……     

Later on as years rolled away I learnt about a young Sadhu, who was ever  faithful to his Master , lived and died for Him. He was born into an orthodox  wealthy Sikh family more than a century before. The family was closely knit with a dear affectionate mother who taught the young boy  Sikh and Hindu scriptures and philosophy. He loved his mother so much that he always wanted to be  with her. But destiny would wish differently and she died suddenly while he was still  fourteen ! This pushed him into a deep depression and loneliness and the love of his father and family could not comfort him. Even the Christian Mission school where he was admitted could not restore his joyful days, rather made him exhibit hatred towards these strange group of  people talking about love and compassion in a cruel world which snatches your mother even when you are young ! He tore and burnt the copy of the Bible given to him only to be admonished by his father. Absence of his mother pushed him so deeply that he eventually wanted  to commit suicide unless the “true god” if there is one, as told repeatedly by his mother , appear to him and explain things ! Eventually the date was fixed and ultimatum given to this “god” unless “he” appears before the early morning , when he would jump before the express train passing to Ludhiana. He was fifteen years old.

That night, suddenly his room was filled with very bright light and a  divine, kind person, whose palms  and feet  pierced with nails appeared before him. The Lord said : “ I gave my life for you..” With his exposure at the Christian Mission school, the boy could make out that this is the true living God, Jesus , who has appeared in person and talking to him. Suddenly great peace dawned in his heart and soul, more than the comfort he could get from his mother. The boy rushed up to his father and cried excitedly “ I have seen Jesus Christ in my room”. His father thought the boy had a  dream and consoled him to go to sleep.

But the boy was so determined that the later events which would make any person melt, would not turn his heart away from Jesus. He was baptized on his sixteenth birthday. He continued his studies for some time and became a “Sadhu” and his possessions were a thin linen garment, a blanket and  New Testament in Urudu. He walked barefooted. Sadhu Sundar Singh unfettered,  went on this mission, till the age of thirty nine, when he went missing on his final mission to Tibet.

During these times the Sadhu imbibed and exhibited the selfless love and compassion that Jesus had. Many incidents of his compassion on people for their redemption into Christ is recorded in history. As many as  twenty times he went to Tibet, a closed and forbidden land for people other than Buddhist and  under extraneous circumstances to proclaim the Gospel.

The Lord took him to many parts of India, Ceylon, Burma, Malaya, Penag, Singapore, Japan, England, Australia, America and most of the European countries where crowded people listened to this “Sadhu” from India preaching the Gospel of Christ in simple language with parables of every day life ! In fact his works are more documented in abroad than in India. During one of such visits to Oxford University, he met an young man called A J Appasamy who was doing his doctor of philosophy. He was so inspired and influenced  by the compassion of Sadhu that he wrote a book on his life along with another scholar B H Streeter. A J Appasamy later became a teacher in Bishop’s College, Kolkotta,  and a teacher in a small village of 700 residents and then as Bishop in Coimbatore when the Church of South India was formed. Bishop A J Appasamy had double doctorate in Philosophy from both Harvard (USA) and Oxford Universities , but chose to be a humble warrior of Christ, the defining moment coming when he met the Sadhu in England.

I wish to mention a touching moment in England when the Sadhu was repeatedly honored by the people of England, some one flashed a question : “ You say you are a sadhu who renounced all worldly things then how can you accept all this honour”. Without waiting even for a moment, the Sadhu replied “ When Jesus went on the donkey to enter Jerusalem, people lined up the way with their garments, leaves and flowers on which the donkey walked carrying Jesus. Did the people honoured the donkey or the Lord ? “ He always remained a humble servant of the Lord all through his life, even when he became so famous through the globe and people running to hear his word.

My dear young friend, what is your vision about your life ? Are you willing to reciprocate the love of Jesus, who is humbly standing at the door, your door, knocking and seeking permission to enter your heart. ? There is nothing wrong in exceling in studies as Bishop  A J Appasamy did. There is nothing wrong in aspiring for a good professional career and good family life… …But the question is “Are you willing to honour your Lord in all of these ? “ With your double doctorate are you willing to tend to the marginalized poor for their enlightenment as the Bishop did ? If such a situation arises can you leave everything you have :money, wealth, position, power, all your decorated career, to show the love of Christ to the world ?

Sadhu Sundar Singh was always eagerly willing to listen to his Master and walk in His ways ever since he accepted Jesus.  Even though not  good comparison of sort, I am reminded of the small terrier dog on the gramaphone logo, with his deep  love and affection,  bending his face deep into the cone, always listening to his mater’s voice, eagerly awaiting for its master to come….

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

( Mathew 10 : 39 )

Prayer : Dear Lord Jesus,

We thank you for all your love and affection and grace in molding us, protecting us from evil and keeping us pure in You. Help us to show the same devotion and love that the Sadhu had  through his life in all his circumstances : in rain and also in sunshine….We praise You and thank you for being our Master and Lord.

We pray in Jesus name,

Amen.

God’s Love Missions family.