September 3. Sádhu Sundar Singh. Sundar was desperate to know the truth about life. He knew it must mean something. In his extremity, he cried out for the One-in-charge to reveal himself—or Sundar would end his own life right then.
And Jesus, the Messiah, revealed Himself to Sundar and recruited him to feed His sheep. On this date in 1905, Sundar was baptized into the body of Christ.
He became a Sádhu—a holy man and teacher—and he traveled and preached throughout the Himalayas and even into Nepal and Tibet, which were closed to the gospel. Today’s story is about one day’s work in Sundar’s life.
Surprise your enemies—don’t try to get revenge.
Dressed in his signature saffron-colored robe and matching turban, his feet bare, Sundar approached the Indian men working in the Markanda field. They were working hard to reap crops under a blazing sun, and he saw men who needed a savior.
He watched them swing their scythes. They listened to him with little more than indifference as he—a sádhu, the Indian word for holy man or sage—talked to them about Jesus Christ.
Gradually, the workers’ disinterest morphed into disapproval. Although Indians have always revered religious men, these men grew impatient with this man’s strange teachings. They rained curses and threats on Sundar, and suddenly a stone sailed through the air and hit its target: the sádhu’s head.
But moments later, the man who had thrown the stone developed such a bad headache that he had to stop working.
Feeling compassion rather than vindication, Sundar picked up the man’s scythe and took his place in the field, working alongside the now-astonished men.
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked” (Luke 6:35 NIV).
The men grew quiet and attentive and Sundar knew that his actions had demonstrated the faith he had been sharing.
At the end of the day, the workers invited him to join them for their evening supper. At home, long into the night they listened to his compelling message about the Christ, and then he left them.
Later, when the men had rested, they went out to take inventory of their harvest. It soon became obvious their yield was much greater than what they had seen in previous years. Shocked and somewhat fearful, they declared to each other that they had surely been visited by a holy man.
An opportunity to disarm an enemy awaits; look for it and take action. Surprise your enemies—don’t try to get revenge.
Parker, Mrs. Arthur. Sádhu Sundar Singh—Called of God. Madras: Christian Literature Society for India, 1919, xiv.
Heiler, Friedrich. The Gospel of Sádhu Sundar Singh, trans. Olive Wyon. Lucknow, IN: Lucknow Publishing House, 1970, 1.
Story read by: Chuck Stecker
Introduction read by: Daniel Carpenter
Audio production: Joel Carpenter
Editor: Teresa Crumpton, https://authorspark.org/
Project manager: Blake Mattocks
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