The four previous encounters between the Hindu man and the young Sri Lankan pastor had been violent.
The four previous encounters between the Hindu man and the young Sri Lankan pastor had been violent.
Each of those four times, Balram (not his real name) led a mob attacking Vijyaraj, the young pastor.
And each time, Vijyaraj was tied up by the mob and severely beaten while his church was set ablaze.
However, each time, the congregation of Heavenly
Mission Harvest Church in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, rebuilt, and Vijyaraj
kept preaching about Jesus.
But despite that history, when the men met for a
fifth time – in the horrific aftermath of Sri Lanka’s tsunami in late
December – Vijyaraj lived out a sermon on Christian forgiveness.
In four years since becoming the first Christian
convert in his rural fishing village of 300 people – and despite the
fierce and ongoing persecution of the militant Hindus – Vijyaraj has
led his church to grow to include 27 families.
All of the families were worshiping on the morning
of Dec. 26 when the tsunami swept onto the coast of Sri Lanka.
While many church members lost homes and fishing
boats, not a single Christian from the village drowned, though as many
as 10 of their neighbors died.
When a Texas Baptist disaster-relief team arrived
less than two weeks later, two volunteers went to the village to set up
a clinic to aid survivors.
Because of the past persecution, the workers were
asked not mention the Gospel of Asia group, of which Vijyaraj’s church
is part. Also, the clinic was not set up at the church but at
Vijyaraj’s house.
“The idea was to help the entire community,” physician Andrew Bentley notes.
Nevertheless, during the relief effort, Bentley and his fellow worker saw something amazing transpire.
“I noticed an old man with a glazed look, …”
physician Andrew Bentley says. “The translator told me the man had lost
his entire family – and that, by the way, he’s the one who has been
persecuting the pastor.”
When it was obvious the wait would be long, Vijyaraj invited the Hindu man into his house and fed him.
“It was amazing that Vijyaraj was not making any
difference (between Balram and the others seeking help from the
clinic),” Bentley emphasizes.
“The man … was already dazed, primarily from grief
over losing his family,” psychologist Richard Brake adds. “But I think
he was further stunned by the way he was welcomed and loved.”
Bentley agrees.
“I don’t think he even realized he was going to
Vijyaraj’s house,” he points out. “The word was just out that there was
a medical clinic in the neighborhood. Then, when he got there and was
met with love instead of fear or animosity, he wasn’t sure just what to
do.”
Brake counseled the man extensively while he waited
to see Bentley. Then, Bentley treated him for cuts and bruises and
confirmed that the soreness in his chest was not life-threatening and
likely from being beaten up by the waves.
However, even with those efforts, the two Texas
Baptists say they know they performed only “minor ministry” that
afternoon compared to Vijyaraj.
“I flew halfway around the world to share my faith and help needy people,” Brake says of the experience.
“And then, as I watched Vijyaraj do exactly what
Jesus said and love his enemy and forgive those who persecuted him, I
thought, ‘Wow, I just got nailed.’
“In America, we have trouble forgiving the jerk who
cuts us off in traffic,” Brake continues. “And here, this Sri Lankan
pastor basically says, ‘Jesus said to love, so, I guess I have to do
it.’
“When I told him how impressed I was, he just kind
of looked down at the ground and didn’t make a big deal out of it. And
that’s what Jesus told us to do, too.”
Bentley notes the workers do not know for sure if
Balram accepted Christ because of that afternoon. But he adds that he
is confident Balram either became a Christian then or will in the near
future.
“I just feel in the deepest part of my heart that
the truth of the gospel reached him because of Vijyaraj’s willingness
to be faithful to his God and to God’s Word,” the Texas Baptist worker
notes. (ABP)