by Tom Wacaster
Everyday traffic on the small streets of India is a challenge
to even the most experienced of travelers. The lorries (equivalent to our 18
wheelers back home), large buses, automobiles, and over abundance of motorcycles
can turn even the smallest of traffic jams into a nightmare. The driving habits
of most of the motorcycle owners is more like a dog-eat-dog world on two wheels.
Words simply cannot adequately describe the mind-set of a motorcycle diver on
the public thoroughfares of India. Thursday evening we were making our way to a
village meeting and, due to construction on the main road, had to take a detour
down what you and I would call a small country dirt road. In front of us was
what appeared to be a large tour bus something akin to a Greyhound. It took up a
good 3/4 of the road. Coming from the other direction was a lorrie, which also
took up 3/4 of the road. In order for these two oversized vehicles to pass, they
had to hug the shoulder of the road o n one side, concrete walls and buildings
on the other side, and slowly inch by one another while by-standers, wanting to
get this traffic cleared from in front of their house as quickly as possible,
helped watch the half inch to 1 inch clearance between the bus and truck to make
sure they did not lock up or that no damage was done to either. The optimum
words here are "slowly inch." Cars were backing up behind both the bus and the
truck, waiting for them to successfully maneuver past one another. Add to this
equation the impatient motorcycle drivers, and traffic almost came to a complete
standstill. Rather than line up behind the automobiles following both truck and
bus, the motorcyclists would go around the cars, and attempt to squeeze into
whatever "crack" might be available for quick passage. Of course, with the
dozens, if not hundreds of motorcycles attempting to pass our car and beat the
next guy to what small opening might become available, they filled in the !
space in front of the truck coming the opposite direction so that the truck
could not "inch forward." At the other end the same had occurred with regard to
the motorcycles and the bus we were following. So, there we all sat; the bus in
front of us and the truck coming the opposite direction, side by side, unable to
move because of the motorcycles, and the motorcycles unable to move because the
truck and bus blocked the way. And then the honking of horns begins; the
incessant honking of horns. I have, for years wondered if there would ever come
a time when a traffic jam would be so back logged that it would be impossible to
make any progress at all. I thought I had witnessed such on this particular
occasion. It took about 30 minutes to finally clear the log jam, and we were on
our way.
Two days later we were in Palakole. The citizens of the state of Andre Pradesh are demonstrating because of a decision by the Indian government to split the state into two parts. This has produced large gatherings of people who pour into the street to voice their opposition to this government decision. With the agitation and strikes, we had to take some back roads in an attempt to get around the city. When I say back roads in India, I mean "back roads"; they make our country roads seem like super improved highways. These narrow, often bumpy, pot-hold laden back roads, wind through the villages and rice patties of India. I asked Nehemiah if the local preacher who was with us was familiar with these back roads. Nehemiah assured me that brother Prabudas was quite familiar with these back roads because he had travelled these roads many times in search of souls. I thought about that statement, its implications and sobering reminder that we are to go about in search for s ouls.
In Luke 19 we read of our Lord's encounter with Zacchaeus. After Zacchaeus had promised to restore four-fold anything he had improperly exacted from the people, the Lord made the following statement: "To-day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Since the gospel came to India in the late 1960's, the growth of the Lord's church has been nothing short of astonishing. There are villages that are so far removed from the main stream of society that it astounds me that the gospel has reached so deep into these remote parts of India. Seeing that the church is the body of Christ, should we not be about seeking and saving those that are lost? Should not our search be as diligent as was our Lord's? Consider the following.
First, the word used by Luke and translated with our English word "seek" means "to seek in order to find; to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after." There is an intensity and urgency in that word. That same intensity and urgency was suggested in the Lord's parable of the lost coin. "Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it?" (Luke 15:8). Not only did this woman seek for that coin; she sought diligently. So urgent was this woman's desire to find the lost coin that she would not leave any object unturned, or any corner of the room unswept in order to find that coin. After ten years of making trips into India and travelling the back roads with brother Gootam, one thing I have learned is that these hard working brethren have diligently searched out the lost souls in these villages.
Second, a thorough search takes time and energy. If you have ever lost an object around the house, and needing to find that object, you know what time and effort it can take to find the lost article. It takes time to get to these villages. It is not unusual to travel two hours to get to one village. In the early days of the church here in India transportation was limited. Some of the preachers we help support are still very limited in their travel capabilities. Last year one preacher told us he would catch the bus to his next preaching appointment; and quite often he would have to walk. On occasions he simply cannot make the bus connections, and by the time he gets to the next preaching appointment the crowds have left. I wonder how many of us in America would be willing to take five hours out of our week to make just one visit. We are so time-conscious and impatient that a two-minute wait in the line at Walmart is intolerable.
Third, seeking lost souls in India is, to be quite frank, quite inconvenient. Sitting in a traffic jam while two oversized vehicles attempt to pass one another is inconvenient. The heat, bumpy roads, lack of sanitation, and a thousand other inconveniences will literally wear a body down. The preachers we support bear up under all those inconveniences, and more, for no other reason than the fact that they love the souls of men. The physical discomforts that go with getting to, preaching, and getting home from a night in the village will test any man's stamina. The western world has become so saturated with labor saving devices that we have in many instances forgotten what it is like to labor. Perhaps we need to take a lesson from the brethren here in India.
Finally, seeking lost souls is very rewarding. Someone once asked me if I enjoyed writing. I answered them with something a brother said to me: "I enjoy having written." Any worthwhile task is laborious, and often filled with frustration and set backs. But in the end, having achieved the desired task, one can enjoy the fruits of his labor. So it is with seeking lost souls on the back roads of India (or anywhere for that matter). There is a joy in knowing you have assisted someone to come to a better knowledge of God's word, or having taught and watched as a precious soul confesses the good name of Christ and is baptized for the remission of his sins. This is why I enjoy coming to India. The sheer magnitude of obedient souls overwhelms the heart and makes every inconvenience, every traffic jam, and every difficult moment worth all the effort to seek and save the lost.
Two days later we were in Palakole. The citizens of the state of Andre Pradesh are demonstrating because of a decision by the Indian government to split the state into two parts. This has produced large gatherings of people who pour into the street to voice their opposition to this government decision. With the agitation and strikes, we had to take some back roads in an attempt to get around the city. When I say back roads in India, I mean "back roads"; they make our country roads seem like super improved highways. These narrow, often bumpy, pot-hold laden back roads, wind through the villages and rice patties of India. I asked Nehemiah if the local preacher who was with us was familiar with these back roads. Nehemiah assured me that brother Prabudas was quite familiar with these back roads because he had travelled these roads many times in search of souls. I thought about that statement, its implications and sobering reminder that we are to go about in search for s ouls.
In Luke 19 we read of our Lord's encounter with Zacchaeus. After Zacchaeus had promised to restore four-fold anything he had improperly exacted from the people, the Lord made the following statement: "To-day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Since the gospel came to India in the late 1960's, the growth of the Lord's church has been nothing short of astonishing. There are villages that are so far removed from the main stream of society that it astounds me that the gospel has reached so deep into these remote parts of India. Seeing that the church is the body of Christ, should we not be about seeking and saving those that are lost? Should not our search be as diligent as was our Lord's? Consider the following.
First, the word used by Luke and translated with our English word "seek" means "to seek in order to find; to seek after, seek for, aim at, strive after." There is an intensity and urgency in that word. That same intensity and urgency was suggested in the Lord's parable of the lost coin. "Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it?" (Luke 15:8). Not only did this woman seek for that coin; she sought diligently. So urgent was this woman's desire to find the lost coin that she would not leave any object unturned, or any corner of the room unswept in order to find that coin. After ten years of making trips into India and travelling the back roads with brother Gootam, one thing I have learned is that these hard working brethren have diligently searched out the lost souls in these villages.
Second, a thorough search takes time and energy. If you have ever lost an object around the house, and needing to find that object, you know what time and effort it can take to find the lost article. It takes time to get to these villages. It is not unusual to travel two hours to get to one village. In the early days of the church here in India transportation was limited. Some of the preachers we help support are still very limited in their travel capabilities. Last year one preacher told us he would catch the bus to his next preaching appointment; and quite often he would have to walk. On occasions he simply cannot make the bus connections, and by the time he gets to the next preaching appointment the crowds have left. I wonder how many of us in America would be willing to take five hours out of our week to make just one visit. We are so time-conscious and impatient that a two-minute wait in the line at Walmart is intolerable.
Third, seeking lost souls in India is, to be quite frank, quite inconvenient. Sitting in a traffic jam while two oversized vehicles attempt to pass one another is inconvenient. The heat, bumpy roads, lack of sanitation, and a thousand other inconveniences will literally wear a body down. The preachers we support bear up under all those inconveniences, and more, for no other reason than the fact that they love the souls of men. The physical discomforts that go with getting to, preaching, and getting home from a night in the village will test any man's stamina. The western world has become so saturated with labor saving devices that we have in many instances forgotten what it is like to labor. Perhaps we need to take a lesson from the brethren here in India.
Finally, seeking lost souls is very rewarding. Someone once asked me if I enjoyed writing. I answered them with something a brother said to me: "I enjoy having written." Any worthwhile task is laborious, and often filled with frustration and set backs. But in the end, having achieved the desired task, one can enjoy the fruits of his labor. So it is with seeking lost souls on the back roads of India (or anywhere for that matter). There is a joy in knowing you have assisted someone to come to a better knowledge of God's word, or having taught and watched as a precious soul confesses the good name of Christ and is baptized for the remission of his sins. This is why I enjoy coming to India. The sheer magnitude of obedient souls overwhelms the heart and makes every inconvenience, every traffic jam, and every difficult moment worth all the effort to seek and save the lost.
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