persecuted not forsaken

The verse which includes the phrase above goes as such;

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

~2 Corinthians 4:8-10

I include this verse because the pastor of the church I spoke at on Sunday is experiencing the truth behind these words. Unfortunately, it is at the expense of other "Christians" not the Hindu extremist surrounding the church. The pastor has been faithfully serving his congregation for over 40 years. His two sons serve with him, and he is currently grooming his one son (Enoch) to take over the church in the near future. The pastor described to us how the past couple of years have been the most painful and scarring for him personally.

At one point the congregation numbered close to one hundred. One member (an elder) suddenly decided to start his own church and take with him all those belonging to his caste. This ended up splitting the church in half. And to add insult to injury, the new church located itself right across the railroad tracks, maybe 300 yards away. While an elder starting a new church is not a bad thing, this particular man has found a way to give "itching ears" exactly what they want to hear. Nothing could prove it more than what was occurring right next door to the church at the same time as our worship service: a wedding.

What's wrong with a Sunday wedding? Nothing. The timing of the wedding was not the problem. The problem was with the individuals being married. After the service Sanjay was approached by three high school girls. They were junior counselors at summer camps asking Sanjay for prayer on behalf of another counselor friend, the bride next door. She was marrying a Hindu man because he had a good job, security, and was generally a "nice guy." Her family forced her into it against her will. As it turned out, she is one of the people attending the elder's church across the tracks. Her family lies in the same caste, so they went with everyone else. But it doesn't stop there.

The marriage was not merely arranged by the girl's parents (self-proclaimed Christians), but it went with the blessings from the elder (now a self-proclaimed pastor). The elder encouraged the family to go through with it. For him, the pros of financial stability far outweighed the biblical con of the man not knowing Christ. He said the man would eventually come to Christ and everything would be fine. While there is truth in this statement (for God can save anyone), it is flat out wrong! It is this type of news which breaks our pastor friend's heart.

Thankfully we were able to encourage him as he graciously opened his home to us for lunch. We discussed the future of his ministry while enjoying fellowship as believers in Christ. We ended by praying for his new grandson as well as the church he is leading. We asked for the healing of his soul and protection over the young girl now married to a Hindu man. Our hearts left rejoicing and yet grieving. Please pray for this friend as well as the young lady. May she be able to live out Peter's call of winning her husband over without words through her holy conduct.