Jossy Chacko

Brothers and sisters, I’ve spent the last few days in Singapore, meeting with business leaders and motivating them to lead a life of significance… it’s impressive, probably one of the most organised and cleanest cities in the world. 

Then the contrast – today I’ve woken in Lucknow, North India, it’s noisy, polluted, and it’s SO hot. There’s no air conditioning, but my hotel is still better than 90% of the homes in India.  I pick up the newspaper and its headline grabs me at the throat – “Not Enough Food… So Children Learn To Eat Mud.”

 The mud is laced with silica, it fills their distended bellies so for a brief moment, they imagine they are full. I think of my own four children, especially Joshua and Jasmine, aged 3 and 5. As a parent, how would it feel to watch your children eat mud because they are starving? You are helpless because you cannot feed yourself.

 Yet this is what is happening in one of the fastest growing economies in the world, a country with more millionaires than the entire population of Australia.  The song, “What a Wonderful World’, enters my mind but it’s an irony. How can we live in a world of such contrasts, a world with riches and excess and success, while one billion of our children live, and die in poverty? That’s one out of every two.  Asia, alongside Africa, accounts for the majority of underweight or stunted children. 

This is a huge problem. But not too huge that we cannot offer solutions.  There’s more than enough money in the world to solve all of the problems of poverty and health. But is there enough political and moral will?  Are there enough people willing to share their wealth? It made me think, if I had a billion dollars, what would I do?  Where would I spend it first? Who was most needy? It still wouldn’t be enough… the problems are insurmountable.  It’s all too hard…

But then I realised I was doing what we all do – getting stuck on the big problem, on the macro. We think about the big problem and become trapped… so we reach the conclusion that we can do nothing. The solutions required for such a huge problem are exactly that, HUGE.

Instead, we should be asking, what do I have, and what can I do?

 Today, through Empart’s initiatives, more than 3,500 children are cared for, given education, food and hope. And that’s because there are so many individuals who haven’t been overawed by the bigger problem. Instead they care to give and share what they have, rather than being paralysed by what they don’t have.

 So here’s what I can do – I can ask you for help – for the children who have to eat dirt. Go on, do a stock take of what you have? Take a chance – decided to use your skills, your gifts, your passion to change the world.  Could you tell me now, via this blog, commit in writing, what you’re willing to risk?  With this image of a little girl eating a handful of mud in your mind, what will you do?

Log onto www.empart.org and learn how your skills and your passion can help immediately.  In eternity you’ll be so glad you did.

“Thank you so much for helping me get out of this place. I thought I was going to die here!”
Brothers and sisters, our prayers have been answered. After 15 days of harassment and interrogation in prison, Kusulia, one of our church workers, has been set free. Why was Kusulia thrown in jail? For the simple act of sharing the word of God with some of the poorest people in Asia.
It’s going to take Kusulia a long time to recover – he’s physically and emotionally drained and his body is bearing the fresh scars of abuse and torment. We’ve already organised emergency medical care and counseling for him. He said of his ordeal, “I hope none of our brothers and sisters ever have to go through this.” I just want to thank every one of you who has prayed non-stop for Kusulia’s release, and also for others facing incredible persecution. Your devotion and dedication was worth it. It took much negotiation with the Government, and continued prayer from our Empart supporters around the world, to ensure that he was released safe, and alive.

Although Kusulia is now free, he was released with a warning from local police,” Be careful – next time things might be different”. Kusulia lives and works amongst an unreached tribal people in a remote forest area of Northern India. Despite his work in assisting the untouchables with literacy and education programs, not all are impressed with his teachings. You see, Kusulia, along with our Empart workers, teach the people of Asia the word of God, that they are all equal in His eyes. But not everyone wants to be considered equal with a dalit, especially not those who profit from their enslavement.

This remains the biggest opposition faced by Empart workers – they teach people that they are created in the image and likeness of God; they have equal value, worth and dignity to every other human being. But this teaching cuts to the core of “castisam and re-incarnation” through which India is able to keep 760 million people as ’slaves’. Yet some of these so-called ’slaves’ are no longer bowing to the wishes of the ‘higher cast’. Some members of the higher caste are retaliating, and these workers of God have become the enemy.

Please continue to pray for Kusulia and other Empart workers in these dangerous regions, that they will know God’s peace and presence. The Empart leaders and I remain unfazed, and more determined than ever to continue to take the liberating teachings of Christ to everyone of these 760 million people. Will you consider joining with me so that together, we can bring them the freedom that they deserve? Log onto www.empart.org or www.empartusa.org now to learn just how easy it is to bring the word of God, and courage and freedom to our brothers and sisters in Asia.

A Christian newspaper asked me to write an article on this topic. I thought you might be interested :

Why don’t the persecuted Christians in India retaliate?

 

I have been asked this question many times since the recent attacks on Christians in India. And it would be understandable if they retaliated, so why don’t they?

 

It is certainly not because they are pacifists by nature, as a quick look at the volatile history between Hindu and Muslim Indians would confirm! Rather, I believe it arises out of their understanding of what it means to follow Christ.

 

For most Indian Christians the issue of discipleship is very simple – once you become a Christian, you live your life as a follower of Jesus. Just deciding to become a Christian can cost you everything – your family, home, friends, and livelihood. So even as a new Christian you know that your life is no longer about yourself, it is all about Jesus. If the Bible says it, you do it. No questions asked. Just obedience. Simple faith in action.

 

In contrast, in the West we spend an enormous amount of energy defining, discussing and exegeting scripture. “Critical thinking” is esteemed above simple obedience. Doctorates, conferences and books are sometimes used to justify and explain what the Bible really means.

 

This problem is compounded where Christianity has become largely unidentifiable from the individualistic, self centred society it is rooted in. Personal preferences and “me-ism” often drive our understanding of scripture. Our social values have become the premise of our faith, rather than our faith being the premise of our values and behaviour.

 

So, when we read Matthew 5:39 “But I tell you not to resist an evil person…” our interpretation is driven by our social value of me-ism – “the most important person in the world is me.” We assume that the scripture cannot intend that I am not to defend myself, so we set about defining what it really means… what degree of non-resistance (or non-retaliation) did Jesus mean? And the conclusion is made that this passage does not refer to life-threatening situations or bodily crimes but to less serious offenses such as insult or inconvenience.

 

However, to the persecuted Indian Christians that I know, the interpretation of this passage is simple – no complicated exegesis, no preoccupation with me-ism, no spin, no excuses. Jesus said not to resist an evil person, so that means retaliation is not an option.

 

Please understand, it isn’t easy for them to live this out. They are also human beings subject to human emotions and pain. Just last month two Pastors in Orissa, India, were torched in front of their families and the believers. Their persecutors threatened them,  “this same thing is going to happen to you if you do not convert back to Hinduism”.

 

It is natural for these Christians to want to retaliate when they are forced to watch loved ones brutally raped or burned alive. But their commitment to follow and obey Christ is a greater priority than their own emotions.  For these persecuted Christians, non-retaliation is not a form of pacifism – it is an active spiritual engagement! They actively entrust their current situations, as well as their future, to God. 

 

Bullu is one of our Empart Church Planters in Orissa. During the persecution 240 Christian houses were destroyed in his village, including his own. In a conversation with him I asked how he was now handling the loss and grief he has experienced. His response? “It was hard at first, but then I thought…the Bible tells us that ‘we are not our own, we have been brought with a price’. (Ed. 1 Cor 6: 19-20) If we really are not our own, if we really are owned by Christ, then we can’t own anything ourselves – everything we have is owned by Christ. So what they have destroyed is not mine but Christ’s.”

 

Bullu is a great example of why these persecuted Indian Christians do not retaliate against their persecutors. They take the word of God literally. They believe that vengeance is the Lord’s (Rom 12:19); that “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21). They abide by Romans 12:17 “Do not repay evil with evil…” and follow Jesus’ example to not get even or hit back, instead leaving their situation in the hands of God who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). To them, following Christ is to be like Him. This means to deny self even to the point of death.  “Not my will but your will be done” (Matthew 26:39). 

 

In the midst of the ongoing persecution one of our Church Planters reported back, “We know that all things work together for good to those who love God. We love Him very much so we know that somehow He will bring good out of this; we don’t know when and how – but He said He will and we believe Him.”

 

These brothers and sisters in Christ are my heroes. Many of them are illiterate; all of them are ‘simple’. They will never write books, produce CD’s or run conferences but they are teaching me what it means to truly follow Christ. They are a new brand of Christians who are not concerned about their own pleasure or comfort, they simply want to follow and obey Jesus – at any cost. No wonder the Gospel is spreading so quickly in Asia.

 

In particular the private secretary to one cabinet minister Mr. Prekash is suffering from some nerve related illness, which is slowly paralysing his whole body. He requested that I ask all my friends to pray for healing for his body. Another minister’s wife is suffering from health issues and requested prayer. Another member of parliament’s son has been addicted to drugs and it has destroyed his own family and is desperate for deliverance and has asked for prayer. I will be grateful if you will remember these and others in positions of power in the Indian Capital. Over the next six months there are state and national elections, many of them are worried about their future (not sure if they will be re-elected) some are not sure if they will get the nomination of the party. One of them said to me “If you pray to Jesus, He will surely get me nomination and I will get re-elected – you please pray and ask others to pray for me”.  The incredible thing in this country is that people are so much more open to spiritual things. They have such an awareness about the “God factor” that is so absent in the western countries. Let us pray that the Lord will bring to power the people who will enable His Kingdom to grow in this great land of India.  
 
Thank you for praying today for these needs with me. God’s blessings – jc

Through a wonderful, God ordained, appointment I had the privilege to meet and pray with Maurine (Miss India) in her home in the Bollywood hills of Bombay. She was a devotee follower of a new age guru, but was ill, lost and was wanting to end her life. Through a number of miraculous God incidents she found healing, peace, joy and above everything else salvation in Christ.  Today her passion for Jesus is inspirational.  
 
During our meeting I was able to encourage and strengthen her faith and challenge her to use her influence to serve the Lord. As we prayed she dedicated herself to serve Him.  During our meeting I was also able to share the plight of our brothers and sisters in Orissa and encourage her to use her profile and influence to help these precious brothers and sisters. She offered to work with Empart and our field leaders to do her best.