Beauty from Ashes

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,” -Psalm 113:7 (ESV)

Vishakapatnam is a city of contrasts. Nestled between the lush and majestic hills of the Eastern Ghats it is not surprising that the port city has the distinction of being India’s “Jewel on the East Coast”. But when I saw its poverty openly displayed, I could not help thinking that Vishakapatnam is a tainted jewel. Memories of my previous missions’ trip to Calcutta flooded my mind as my eyes saw familiar scenes of poor families struggling to make a living under the shadow of a glistening mall, and street children begging for money only to meet the threatening hand of a nearby police officer.

Poverty is the breeding ground for revolution. This is especially true of this region in India. Andhra Pradesh has been a battleground between government security forces and a coalition of Communist rebels calling themselves Naxalites. Taking their name from their first insurrection in 1967 in the village of Naxalbari in West Bengal, they now operate throughout eastern India claiming to be the defenders of India’s oppressed poor. Maoist in their ideology they fight from their rural strongholds with the ultimate objective of overthrowing the Indian government and have slowly begun to make their prescience felt in the cities. A few days before our arrival in Vishakapatnam there was a bomb blast in the city. It was discovered that Naxalite rebels were responsible.

Into this context walked my friend Selva, and I; distributing flyers for Logos Hope to people living in the poorer areas surrounding the new CMR Central Mall. Store owners, fruit vendors, auto-rickshaw drivers, all took the flyers willingly and with curiosity. As we Continued to hand out flyers I could not help but feel like a revolutionary myself; one whose leader is not found in man but in Christ who is perfect in love and righteousness. For all the grand claims the Communist revolution makes of fighting for liberty, equality, and justice, it has the tragic consequence of turning people into ten times the oppressors than the ones they overthrew! Mao Tse-tung, whom the Naxalite rebels take their cues from, was arguably the most brutal and infamous dictator in human history. He killed millions of his own countrymen and viewed them as necessary for the progression of the Communist revolution in China. Such is the problem when people look to human leaders for a saviour. They become deceived and fall under the yoke or sword of those whose fallen nature has full sway. Considering this, it comes as no surprise then that the Naxalite rebels of eastern India oppress and victimize the very people they are supposed to be fighting for.

The love of Christ is revolutionary. In His eyes all have been created in His image and therefore have intrinsic worth. Human life is therefore sacred because each one, regardless of ethnicity or socio-economic status, bears the image of God. That is why we go out and distribute flyers for Logos Hope. That is why we serve others through ministry projects. Our objective is to tell others by our words and actions that God cares for them and wants to be in relationship with them. The Creator of the Universe loves each one so much that He died for them so that sin would no longer keep them apart from Him. Rather they would come into an intimate relationship with Him where their worth is not found in what they own or what they do not have, but in what God thinks of them as His dearly loved children.

I pray that the people we distributed flyers to would have the chance to come visit Logos Hope. That they may see and experience for themselves the love of Christ which transforms lives and hearts. I pray that they would find hope and security in the fact that when they have God as their Father, nothing will be able to overcome them and that they will rest in the promise that God works all things together for His good and perfect will. Nothing in this world, its philosophies or ideologies, will be able to bring lasting hope and peace. It is only the love of Christ overflowing from within the hearts of those who know Him that will grant eternal joy as we look forward to the day when Christ will come again and wipe every tear from the eyes of those who are hurting and broken.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.