Rebelling to Follow Christ

In many least-reached cultures, following Christ is seen as rebellion, not only against a person’s religious upbringing, but also against family. Below, a Christar worker in South Asia shares about two believers who are alone in their families, and for whom Christ is everything.

Families divided

The man teared up, a cut of bitterness in his voice, “We raised Tanvi*, our only daughter well. We gave her a good education and protected her from evil. But she was influenced at the university by some vagrants—worthless people—and began to stray. She began to go after foreign gods. She even talked about how much this new god loved her.” He shook his head and said with a tremor, “I tried warning her but she wouldn’t listen. Please … can you tell me, why would she do this to us?! Why would she believe in this Jesus?!”

Jude, a Christar worker, sat cross-legged on the floor mat across from this father. Jude shared briefly about the love and sacrifice of Jesus, about how Jesus came back from the dead with victory and power. The heartbroken man interrupted, “What? This?! This is nothing! He is nothing for us. We worship Shiv! He is our Lord.”

Tanvi’s “rebellion” was to follow after Jesus Christ. And then she married Pankaj. Pankaj was also raised in a conservative Hindu home, but as a teenager, he learned about Jesus. Over the course of a few years, he became a disciple of Jesus Christ and, later, began working with a Christian organization.

A treasure beyond compare

He and Tanvi love the Lord Jesus with all their heart, soul, strength and mind. For both of them, Christ is everything.

For now, they are nearly alone. Consider Pankaj’s family: He has 18 aunts and uncles and uncountable cousins; apart from his sisters, his entire family is Hindu. Tanvi is the only believer in Jesus in her family. She and Pankaj continue to cling to the one who will never leave them or forsake them, for He is their all and everything, their Savior.

Participate by Praying:

• Praise God for saving them both, for making them His disciples and for lavishing His love on them in Christ Jesus!
• Pray that they will remain faith-filled and humble in the face of loneliness and opposition in their families.
• Pray that God will use them to share the gospel with Tanvi’s extended family, most of whom still don’t know who Jesus is.
• Pray that they will exercise wisdom in respecting and honoring their families.