Silver And Gold

I sent out one of my general emails yesterday and in it I said I’d write an entry for my blog about a woman who came by yesterday and who I got a chance to talk to about Jesus.

Yesterday was the second time she came to my house. The first time she was found near the train station by a woman whose son works in our ministry and she brought her to our house. The woman was obviously very poor, destitute and someone had given her the name of our ministry. That day I directed her to our offices down the road where the people (she had some names) she was looking for could be found. No one was there that day.

She had walked then and yesterday from the other side of the city in the hot son with her two year old son. When she came yesterday I knew everyone was at a large program at our school so I invited her in and called the pastor to my house. He was also involved in the program yesterday and could barely stay and talk with her. I had already put on some lunch for her and her son, so after the pastor left I sat down and got her story.

Her husband left her with four children ages 8 to 2. Three girls and then the 2 year old son. A man she called “Bhiyah” (brother), told her about Jesus and about our ministry. *

After our pastor left I was thinking about Peter and John at the gate in Jerusalem in Acts 3. (I like the KJV for this) “Silver and gold have I none but what I have give I thee.”** Peter said. I can’t give money (or even clothes and food items like I gave to the woman yesterday) to every destitute person who comes along. I can and will give them Jesus.

So I spoke to her about Jesus and she said Bhiyah told her about Him that that she had faith on Jesus and she’d never forget Him. I then explained about Jesus being a God who does not tolerate worship of other gods alongside of Him. She answered, “No I only have faith on Jesus, I’ll never forget Him.”

I left it for a while, went and brought her lunch, came back. Tried again ( Since Hindi is not my first language I generally repeat myself a few different ways to make sure I am clear, this is good for sharing the gospel.) This time I told her that, yes, we must have faith on Jesus but we must also confess our sins and leave our sinful ways. She said she had done that and that she “only has faith on Jesus, I’ll never forget Him.” Sound familiar, yeah, me too.

She promised to come to church today. She didn’t. She does live far and has 4 small children, but I had the impression even as she left that she had rehearsed her part. She sat for a while, not leaving, waiting for me to give her money, I didn’t, then she left.

* Have a look at the next entry called Poverty And Religion
* *Acts 3:6